Tempest the Turk
by LadyoftheDrow
Summary: Answer to Yashodoa's FCChallenge. Very AU. NonYaoi. Cloud and her mother move to Nibelheim when she's nine and Cloud gets locked in Shinra Mansion and wakes up Vincent. FemaleHero plus EarlyRiser equals sharp right turn off canon. CloudxZack VinOC SephOC
1. Prologue: Papa

**Disclaimer: **_I own nothing but the idea for this story and my Vincent Valentine Action Figure, everything else . . . belongs to –insert names here-_

**A/N:** _Well, lookit here, I'm finally rewriting these chapters, please reread everything in order if you would, you may find something new and intriguing._

**A/N2:** _My answer to Yashodoa's Female Cloud Challenge, so no, it's not a typo when I consistently refer to Cloud as female._

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**Tempest The Turk**

**Prologue**

**Papa**

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**Kalm, Eastern Continent**

**08:00 (-2 GST), October 20, 1983**

Cloud was a very happy little girl.

She had finally trained with the Lightning Materia she'd received for her seventh birthday enough to Master it, that meant that she could go with her father on Patrol today! The proud smile he'd given her when she revealed her newborn Lightning Materia had been more than enough to brighten her day. Not even her mother's frown about her only child leaving the town could dampen her spirits.

Her mother had good reason to be worried. The last few weeks, the monsters had gotten rather restless, several patrolmen had come back badly injured, no matter how hard she tried, her husband wouldn't rescind his promise to his daughter. His loyalty and honor were two of the things about him she both loved and hated.

"Papa!"

"There's my magelet," the sandy-haired man ruffled her mess of blonde spikes, "All set?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded and held up her wrist, her Silver Armlet set with her mastered Lightning Materia.

"Being armed with materia is all well and good," The two blue-eyed Strifes' turned to see their third family member approaching with a blue and black bundle in her hands, "But I won't let you go out dressed like that."

"Huh?" the younger blonde blinked and looked down at her outfit of dark green shirt, brown trousers and black boots.

"Normal clothing is no defense against a monster's claws," she said pointedly, shaking out the bundle and pulling it over her daughter's head before she could protest. "Mari and I made this special for you, armor doesn't usually come in children's sizes."

And armor it was, thick blue canvas with panels of tough black leather, it was sleeveless and a little long, but it would do the trick. "Thanks Mother!" She grinned up at her in delight. She was going on patrol with her father and now she had special armor to wear for the trip!

"Be sure to thank Mari when you see her, alright?"

"Yes, Mother," Cloud nodded dutifully and then looked up when her father dropped his hand to her shoulder.

"Time to go, magelet," he grinned, "Don't want to keep the others waiting, hmm?"

Her eyes widened and she ran to the door, stopping mid-stride in the doorway to wave at her mother, "Bye, Mother!"

"Bye, honey," she smiled slightly at her first-and only-born's infectious grin.

"We'll be fine, Piper," the former SOLDIER smiled at her.

"I can't help but worry," she replied quietly, "Stay safe, alright?"

"I'll make sure Cloud comes home safe and sound in time for dinner," he saluted mockingly.

"Hurry up, Papa!"

"Duty calls," he stated with a chuckle as he headed for the door.

"So it does," the blonde returned dryly.

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**North-East Kalm Plains, Eastern Continent**

**12:45 (-2 GST) October 20, 1983**

"Papa!"

"Just go! Find Leo and get out of here!" the blue-eyed man ordered as his sword left another slash in the surprisingly durable monsters hide.

Her wonderful day had been shattered with a single roar.

Shortly after leaving the town, the group had split up into pairs, or trios in the case of Cloud and her father, Leo, his usual partner, had gotten split up from them only fifteen minutes ago. He'd gone to search out one of the Haven Stones so they could stop to eat. Soon afterwards, they were attacked by a half-dozen of unfamiliar monsters that looked like a cross between a bull and a dragon.

They'd only managed to kill one so far, but with five of the sand-colored creatures remaining, it wasn't an easy fight in the least. The only reason they'd killed the first one was because Cloud had weakened it badly with one of her few Bolt3s, she didn't have any ethers and she'd already used up some magic on earlier creatures. As a result, she only had enough energy left for at most two Bolt3s and a few normal Bolts.

The former SOLDIER had quickly forbidden her from using them, stating quite firmly she should save them for when she really needed them.

"What about you!?" She rolled to the side to avoid a charge attack.

"Just go!" He risked a scolding glare in her direction, "They're too strong! Get moving!"

"No! I won't!"

"This is no time for being stubborn!" he spun as he finally dispatched the second beast and his azure eyes widened as he looked past her, "Look out!"

Cloud turned and couldn't hold back the scream that erupted from her throat, another one of the Iron Horns was charging directly for her, magic concentrated around it's horns as it moved.

Her first thought was to dodge to the side again, but that thought was quickly slowed by the small piece of information that her father, already injured by their fight so far and holding off the other three Iron Horns, was in the 'Line of Fire' if she moved.

"Cloud!"

In one of her more mature if somewhat stupid moments, she stood firm and closed her eyes in fearful anticipation. Over the sounds of the monster's pounding footsteps, she heard another set of running footfalls, but didn't think anything of it until both movements stopped and something wet splashed over her.

She hesitantly opened her eyes to a sight she never should have seen. The Iron Horn, eyes glazed over in death, had her father's sword shoved right through it's skull. Her father, himself, stood in front of her, facing the Iron Horn. As she watched, it dissipated into pyre flies.

. . . and her father's body fell limply to the ground, the horn formerly piercing his heart having been the only thing holding his body upright.

"Pa-pa . . .? Papa!" the fact he wasn't moving sank into her young mind and she turned to glare at the three remaining monsters with an icy anger. "You . . . hurt my Papa."

The trio actually paused their movements to stare at Cloud. Confusion running through their primitive minds: the small one felt different, why did the little threat now feel like big threat?

A glint caught the blonde's eye and she quickly scooped up the small crystal orb from beside her father's body, the information of it's purpose instantly flooding her mind as she slid the supplementary Materia into the slot linked to her Mastered Lightning.

Sky blue had hardened into cool ice as she raised her arms above her head, the two materia starting to glow as she prepared her spell. "Die . . . BOLT3 ALL!!"

And the air was filled with the sounds of violent crackling and pained wails as the small blonde took her vengeance.

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**A/N:** _Sooo . . . . like the new and improved version of Papa? It's much longer, isn't it?_

**Rewritten: 6/19/08**

**Replaced: 10/26/08  
**


	2. Part 1: Chapter 1: Two Years Alone

A/N: Hey All

**A/N:** _Well, apparently I was on a roll tonight, it's one in the morning on June 20__th__ and I just finished rewriting this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_

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**Tempest the Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 1**

**Two Years Alone**

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**West Kalm, Eastern Continent**

**18:12 (-2 GST) August 19, 1983**

Piper knew something was wrong long before Leo cam to her door with her silent and blood-stained daughter as she was about to start dinner. No words were exchanged as Cloud stepped inside and the sun-kissed brunette handed her Skye's still bloody Buster Sword.

The days turned into weeks and then months without a single word between the blonde duo. Piper still left each morning to work at Mari and Hev's, Cloud still went into the east fields every day to train her magic on the Gnomes and Dirt Mice that roamed there.

One day though, Piper came downstairs to find her daughter already awake, breakfast ready and waiting for her. The blonde herself was seated in the corner of the living room in Skye's well-worn armchair, a familiar leather bound journal in her hands. The journal her father had written in when he was still working with SOLDIER.

He'd been a part of the earliest group of SOLDIER, before the Mako injections became common place. He'd made it through the ranks on sheer skill and ability, as well as an affinity for magic.

While Piper was left speechless by the break in their routine, her daughter looked up upon realizing she was here and tilted her head slightly as she pointed to something on the page, "Mother? What's this word? I don't know it."

She relaxed slightly and walked over to examine the page, following the child's small finger to the offending word and concentrating on giving an accurate definition, "Dorm: it's a place where a group of people live together."

"Is it a kind of house?"

"Not quite, a dorm room itself is usually for students who live at their school, the Academy dorms are an example of that. The Cadets are assigned a room with three other Cadets. That room is their home away from home, they sleep and study there and there's an adjoining bathroom."

"Oh," she blinked as she filed away the information, "So that's what it means . . ."

Piper smiled as Cloud bookmarked her page, "Now, let's go enjoy that wonderful smelling meal you made."

"Okay!"

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**West Kalm, Eastern Continent**

**19:20 (-2 GST) August 20, 1984**

Cloud, now eight years old, held up her new dress to her body to get an idea how it would look. It was a pale orange-red with green embroidery making a small flame design in the bottom right corner. Typical Kalm clothing, plain yet vibrant.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, she quickly tucked it out of sight, but not quick enough apparently, she realized as she heard her mother sigh from the doorway, "Oh, Cloud . . ."

Looking up sheepishly, the younger blonde started to try to explain her actions, "I know you want me to dress like a girl, but . . ."

"But?" the green-eyed widow prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"Most everybody thinks I'm a boy 'cause of how I dress-" she said in a rush, but cut herself off when her mother raised a hand.

"It's _almost_ everybody and _because _of how you dress."

"Yeah, whatever, Mother," Cloud said in an unconscious quote of her father, "Anyway, the people who think I'm a boy respect me more than the ones who know I'm a girl, Leo and Mari are the only ones who don't treat me like a silly little girl when I talk about using magic."

"Are you saying you want to be a cross-dresser?" the other blonde eyebrow rose to join the first, she knew Hev and Kelli in particular were very careful around her daughter, ever since Skye died, they treated her like glass.

"A what?" Piper almost laughed at the remarkably accurate impression the younger blonde gave of a stunned Chocobo.

"A cross-dresser: someone who dresses themselves so that others think they are a member of the opposite sex."

"Ohh that-I mean . . . yeah," Cloud corrected herself quickly.

She could only laugh at her daughter's antics, if she'd thought it over that much there was nothing she could do to stop her, she was just like her father: loyal and stubborn. "Oh, Cloud . . . just remember though, being a cross-dresser can be scorned sometimes, it is a form of deceit after all."

"Only if they find out!" she pointed out with an infectious grin, a rare sight this past year.

"Yes, _if _they find out," Piper smiled and tweaked Cloud's nose, "Now put your dress away right and come downstairs, dinner's ready, I made your favorite."

The eight-year-old instantly brightened at the implications, "Sashimi!?"

"Mm-hmm," her mother nodded at the now hyperactive child, "And if you're good, I'll let you make your own from the leftovers."

"Oiyaah!" she exclaimed and quickly pulled the dress out again as Piper stood to leave the room, shaking out the newly forming creases.

"You've got ten minutes."

"Okay!" Cloud replied as Piper left the room. "I wonder what scorned means . . . sounds like disliked . . ."

She'd be sure to add sashimi to her list of 'Things That Make Cloud Happy,' it was considerably shorter than it had been a few years ago . . . she shook away her somber thoughts and descended the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, Cloud could be found on a chair in front of the kitchen counter, working with exaggerated care and somehow avoiding getting rice stuck to anything other than her fingers as she carefully made the rolls.

Piper watched her work, smiling in amusement at the serious yet pleased face the younger blonde wore. Yes, definitely need to add making sashimi to the list.

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**West Kalm, Eastern Continent**

**18:30 (-2 GST) August 28, 1985**

Today had been rather busy at Tree-Mark Apparel, leaving the blonde woman very eager to make an easy dinner and relax with a cup of Kanella Blossom tea. Cloud had other plans apparently as the nine-year-old rose at her entrance, a small box in her hands.

"Mother! I've got something for you!"

Resigned to enduring a little more time before relaxing in exchange for the proud air her daughter was exuding, Piper took a seat and accepted the metal box. It had two combination locks as well as a latch where she suspected a padlock had rested. A very familiar padlock, she remembered when Skye had bought it, she'd seen the key on a chain around her daughter's neck time and again.

"What is it?"

"I know you've been wanting to move and you'd even looked at a house in Nibelheim, but you didn't think we had enough gil for it," the blonde's face fell at the blue-eyed girl's discovery.

"Cloud . . ."

"Wait!" Cloud stopped her before she could say anymore and opened the box, "I've been saving these for a while, but . . . I know that Leo can give you a lot for them!"

Her eyes widened at the sight of several colored orbs, six green and one blue, "But . . . Cloud, aren't these . . . ?"

She shook her head with a hesitant smile, "Each time I mastered one of my materia, I started on a new one, I'm already at third level on most of my newest ones, those are all my older Masters. There's three Lightning, one All, one Restore and two Ice . . ."

"That's . . ." She scrunched up her face as she struggled to remember the exact number, "One million, six hundred . . . and seventy . . . three thousand gil . . . I think. And the house was only five hundred thousand, so . . ."

The widow laughed slightly, "Cloud, I know for a fact that just this one All Materia," as she spoke, she reached in and selected the odd one out, "Will be more than enough, keep the others, you might need them some other time."

Cloud's face dropped at the partial refusal, "You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure," she leaned forward and kissed her forehead fondly, "Thank you."

The smile instantly returned to her daughter's face and she proudly said, "Thank you, Mother, now I can see where you grew up."

"Mm-hmm," the Nibel-born woman nodded and closed the box, pressing it into Cloud's hands, "Now, go put away your materia while I make us some dinner."

The small blonde nodded obediently and disappeared upstairs.

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**West Kalm, Eastern Continent**

**05:45 (-2 GST) October 2, 1985**

Blue eyes stared at the dark and familiar details of the bedroom ceiling, it wasn't morning quite yet, so why had she woken up? She usually didn't get up until dawn was an hour past at the least. It took that long for the sunlight to hit her bedroom properly, since her bedroom was one the west side of the house.

Then her mind clicked and she sat up with a noise that sounded uncannily like a kweh, today was a very important day, a very important day indeed.

Outside, everything was silent, a small Redwing was peacefully sleeping above the window of a small home. It fell off it's perch with a strangled squawk as sound roughly woke it from it's rest.

"Yes! We're leaving today!" Cloud blinked as a reddish blur dropped past her window and then shook her head, slipping out of bed as she realized there was no way she'd be able to get anymore sleep.

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**A/N:** _There you go, chapter one in all it's redone glory! By the way, are any of you fanatics enough to spot the line which is something of a quote of Harry Potter from book 1?_

**Rewritten: 6/20/08**


	3. Part 1: Chapter 2: Nibelheim

A/N: Hello peoples

**A/N:** _Well, this chapter took quite a bit to rewrite, it is rather iffy in both length and content, I hope it flows a lot better now! I know the rewrites are still rather short, but I don't want to mess with the content too much, the newer chapters should become longer though, 5,000-7,000 words sound about right?_

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**Tempest The Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 2**

**Nibelheim**

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**08:05 (+9 GST) October 13, 1985**

The northernmost house in Nibelheim was small, but still slightly larger than the Strife home in Kalm. The first floor was a three quarter room, entering, you would find a set of stairs directly to your left, following the edge of the house and wrapping around a walled-in study. To the right was the living area, filled with a low table, a small couch and two armchairs. On the far side was the dining room, a smallish table with two chairs, the other two of the set framing the narrow table under the window. Separating the kitchen from the dining area was a long wooden counter with a stone pillar leading up to the ceiling at the entrance.

Piper looked around her old home in pride, it was arranged just like she remembered it, a good deal cleaner and good deal . . . quieter.

Where was Cloud?

Dunn-dunn-dunn-dunn-dunk-dunn-dun-dun

She looked up at the sound and saw a small orb bounce frantically down the second segment of steps, mere moments later, a familiar blonde figure came running after it, her muted orange shirt already smudged on the sleeve with the grey of dust. She stumbled and slammed into the wall of the corner, tumbling down the rest of the carpeted stairs in her rush to retrieve the valuable treasure.

"Owww . . ." Cloud complained as she sat up, rubbing her shoulder and forgetting her prey for the moment.

"Cloud!"

The small blonde stiffened at the tone in her mother's voice but was too surprised to look sheepish or guilty, "Uhh . . ."

"You shouldn't run on the stairs like that! You could've gotten hurt!" She scolded her scion more out of shock than anger.

"But I didn't so . . ." Cloud tried to escape her pending punishment, after all, she was safe and it wasn't like she did something wrong, was it?

No such luck.

Piper placed her hands on her hips and glowered at the nine-year-old, "That doesn't excuse it!"

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**13:10 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Various half-muttered words that she wasn't supposed to know quite yet escaped the blonde's lips as she went through the luggage piled at the entrance to her new bedroom. The second floor of the house was fairly simple, two small rooms on the east side of the house, the northern one being her bedroom and the southern one reserved as something of a storage/playroom, a bathroom with a surprisingly tiled floor and a built-in bathtub was in the south-east corner, while the master bedroom was positioned above the study and part of the living area.

Her room itself was simple, a window on the eastern wall, with the headboard of her bed set against the wall to the left of it. The worn desk that had been there upon arrival was set to the right of the window, the darkish bookcase set beside it. Dealing with her clothes had been easy, she didn't have that much, barely enough to fill the almost black trunk that took her fifteen minutes of pushing and pulling to position beneath the window. Finally, a small and rather unused dresser was placed at the foot of her bed. The west side of the room had a small wall length closet, the floor was dark and the walls were painted a pale blue.

She'd gone through two of the five boxes so far, filling the bookcase with tattered old novels and knickknacks, little things she had collected as a result of curiosity and a love of small unique objects. The dresser held the newer armor that Mari and Hev and made as a going-away present for her, as well as her lighter clothing. Clothing she wouldn't be wearing very often here in the mountains.

Her half-conscious complaints fell silent as she discovered a few items in the bottom of the box she was sifting through. They were her father's . . . the journal she had expected, it was an unspoken agreement that it was now hers, and an old bangle with the Shinra logo etched into the band wasn't that unusual either, it was either give it to her or get rid of it, her mother couldn't and wouldn't use Materia. She set them aside, planning on putting them in the Box later, where they'd be safe.

The next item made her frown, it was an old uniform, complete with shoulder guards and the small emblem on the shoulder that labeled it as the property of a SOLDIER 2nd. It still surprised her sometimes, the fact that Shinra still used the same uniforms for SOLDIER even now. . . On a sudden impulse, she quickly folded it up and hid it in the depths of her trunk.

Finished with that box, the blonde quickly pushed it out of the way and took to the remaining ones with a vengeance, maybe, if she finished them quick enough, she could read the next chapter of Knight of Stars before her mother came to check up on her . . .

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**16:10 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Piper smiled fondly upon discovering the now common sight of her daughter sprawled out with a book in hand, she supposed, that reading and learning was her way of coping, ever since that day, she'd changed, matured. Thankfully, she was still quite capable of acting her age, but her now natural seriousness was rather surprising at times.

In fact, she acted like Skye, he'd been rather serious most of the time, but he had a playful nature to balance it out, they were both rather unpredictable, one minute they could be completely blasé about a problem, the next utterly serious and then they'd crack a smile and make a playful comment.

A Strife is the Beginning and End of Chaos.

Those had been her husband's words when she commented on his personality one time years ago. It was something of a Family Motto. She still didn't fully understand it, but when she'd said so, he simply said it wasn't something you could understand or learn, it was simply what they knew and did. It was their nature.

"So . . ." She broke the silence and nearly laughed when the blue-eyed girl sat up sharply. "What do you think of my old room?"

"Your old room?" She asked in surprise, instantly attentive to the older blonde.

"Mm-hmm," Piper nodded, "I had this room, your grandparents were in the Master Bedroom and your Uncle Zephyr's room was the one beside yours."

The Strife Heiress frowned at her words, "Where are Grandma and Grandpa? And Uncle Zephyr? You never talk about them."

"Your grandparents died in an accident before I met your father and . . ." she paused for a moment, "He left a few years before that, he'd met a girl when he was traveling and was going to ask her to marry him."

Cloud's eyes widened slightly at the news of her relatives, but she knew better than to press for more information, changing the subject, "Mother, can I go outside, and look around the village?"

"Well, I suppose, since you've finished your room . . ." she smiled at the sight of how successfully her daughter had 'home-ified' the room. "Go ahead, maybe you can find some of my old haunts."

She nodded and bookmarked her page, "Alright."

The younger blonde pulled her boots on and checked her materia, double-checking again to make sure she had her new Lightning as well as her Mastered, a Blizzard and her half-grown All.

"Don't zap any of the kids and dinner's at seven."

Cloud gave her mother an overly innocent look, "You really think I'd zap people I don't know?"

"Most definitely," the nine-year-old pouted and left the room, but as soon as she was out of sight, Piper heard a rapid set of footsteps, followed by a thump and a yelp as she fell down the last few steps. Moments later, she heard more footsteps and the sound of the door being opened and shut.

"That's going to be a habit of yours now, isn't it Cloud?" the green-eyed orphan and widow said softly, looking out the window, past the wall that protected the village from monsters, to the mountains she once knew so well. "Just like Zephyr, he always fell going down those stairs . . . he never could slow down."

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**16:15 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Nibelheim was quite different from Kalm, Kalm had been a lively town despite it's name, they had all sorts of people there, they were proud and kind, open to outsiders. Nibelheim was different, smaller, quieter and isolated. There were only about two dozen families living here, most of which had been here for generations.

Outsiders were looked upon with suspicion, she'd already seen some of the looks people gave her. The woman who lived next door though, a pale woman with dark hair had smiled at her and said it was good to have a Jones back in the village. Well, she never had seen anyone but her mother with the same shade of blonde she had . . . maybe it was a family trait?

Her thoughts were broken as a ball rolled to her feet and looking up, she saw a group of boys around her age and a few years older milling nearby.

One of the boys, a brunette with blue eyes, stepped forward and waved towards her, "Hey! New kid! Throw the ball over, will ya!?

The order in his words made her frown, who did he think he was? He was only a year older than her and obviously not that smart. She looked down at the ball contemplatively and then collected it with a small smirk as she made a decision. She tossed the ball up a little to test the weight, then threw it as hard as she could with all her training at the boy's stomach. He grabbed it reflexively and nearly doubled over from the force of the blow combined with his surprise.

"Nice arm, kid," the tallest and older boy of the group commented, stepping forward, he was about twelve, with brown hair and red-brown eyes, "What's your name?"

"Cloud Strife," she answered warily, "From Kalm."

"He didn't ask where you're from, shrimp!" a redhead snapped. Shrimp! Sure she was somewhat short but 'Shrimp!!' . . . . "Stupid outsider." 'I could say the same about you, fire-hair.'

"Quiet, Roy," the redhead fell silent as the obvious leader scolded him.

"I did grow up in Kalm," she stated with a scowl, "But Mother grew up here."

"Well, that give you something of a right to join the Nibel Pack," he smirked slightly, "Since you're only a half-blood, you'll have to prove yourself. By the way, name's Reed Lockhart, leader of the thirteenth Pack."

"What do I have to do?"

His smirk grew, making the blonde even more wary, "You have to go into Shinra Manor and bring back proof you went inside."

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**A/N: **_Three re-written now, at 12:30 PM on 6/20 and here's the updated version of the Character List._

**Characters of Tempest the Turk:**

Skye Strife Cloud's father

Leo Owner of the Materia shop in Kalm, Skye's patrol Partner

Piper Strife Cloud's mother

Zephyr Jones Piper's older brother

Pale Woman Mrs. Lockhart

Mari and Hev Owners of Three-Mark Apparel in Kalm, a clothing and armor shop

Reed Lockhart Tifa's older brother, leader of the Nibel Pack

Roy a member of the Nibel Pack

**Rewritten: 6/20/08**

**Reposted: 10/26/08  
**


	4. Part 1: Chapter 3: Shinra Manor

**A/N:** _rewrite four of six, I'm doing pretty well aren't I? In fact, these chapters seem to be doubling in length at the moment, nice, right?_

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**Tempest The Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 3**

**Shinra Manor**

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**21:34 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Shinra Manor had stood silent and empty for the past several years and now stood in all it's creepy horror story house glory. The paint was peeling, windows were cracked, trees rather leafless and the gates extremely foreboding.

Cloud, realizing her mother would in no way, shape or form support her doing a 'right of passage,' had climbed out her window after dinner, quickly making her way to the Manor. The gates were unlocked and partially open, so she didn't have to worry about climbing them.

As she stood before the double doors, she found her eyes trailing to the handles, an old padlock was lying on the floor, the latch it belonged to hanging open. It locked from the outside? . . . she shoved away the thought, she needed to find something Shinra-ish, get out and go home before her mother realized she was gone.

Pushing the door open, the evening light falling through the windows illuminated a switch on the far wall. It was rather dark in here . . . she quickly stepped over and hit the switch, smiling in satisfaction as several lamps started to give off a dim light.

Now, what to get? She looked around the foyer and shook her head, nothing here, so she went into the next room, only a few steps in, she heard a loud bang and the lights flickered and died.

Retracing her steps, she stared in disbelief at the sight of the securely shut doors, as she approached, them, she heard a click and hushed voices. Familiar hushed voices. She was _so_ going to zap them when she got out of here!!

"Reed, that was a good one, locking him in!"

"How long are we gonna leave him in there?"

"All night," she could almost _hear_ his smirk.

Her face darkened into a near mirror to two years previous as she glared at the locked door. _How Dare They!?_ Tapping into her, as far as her mother was concerned, nonexistent repertoire of insults once more, she kicked the door, yelping when the thick leather did nothing to lessen the pain of the blow.

"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid blonde." Cloud berated herself with a wince as she dropped to the floor to rub her toes, "Hard door plus foot equals 'ouch!'"

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**21:52 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

By the time the pain had faded, her eyes had adjusted somewhat to the low light remaining inside the manor. The lights hadn't returned, the force of the door slamming shut had probably been enough to break the ones that still worked.

She might as well satisfy her curiosity while she had the chance, who knew what kind of surprises were left behind here? Maybe even some materia? Her mother always said her curiosity would get in her in trouble some day . . .

_/"You're more curious than a cat, Cloud, but satisfaction might not bring you back."_

"_Huh?" Cloud blinked._

"_Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."_

"_A quote?"_

"_Mm-hmm, curiosity is a good thing, but too much of a good thing is bad for you."/_

Deciding to ignore the past warning, she stood and reentered the other room again, there'd been some crates, surely they had something interesting inside?

_Sshhh-sksh_

The blonde looked down to find two yellowing sheets of paper under her foot, retracting it, she brushed off the dirt and skimmed through the message. So, there was someone trapped here? If they were still here . . . she resolutely turned her attention to the second page and read the first clue.

"Look for the lid of the box with the most oxygen?" Cloud read aloud in confusion, "Why would a box have oxygen?" Shaking her head and resolving herself to search the lid of every box she came across, she looked at the next clue. "Behind the Ivory's short of tea and ray."

_Ivory . . . Leo called the keys on his piano ivory and weren't tea and ray, what's the word? Homophobes? No it was homophones-for musical notes?_ So, that meant there should be a piano and what she was looking for was behind it . . .

Finally, Cloud read the third and final message: "The creek in the floor near the chair on the second floor. Then the left five steps, up nine steps, left two steps and up six steps." She smiled at that, "Well, that's fairly straightforward."

The blue-eyed girl stuffed the papers into her pocket and fell into the thrill of the hunt. There was someone waiting for her . . .

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**22:46 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Clues two and three were fairly easy to locate, though she'd had to stretch her steps to find the right spot on the floor, now, she was searching the lids of every box she could find. She'd already found several potions and ethers that were starting to make her suspicious. During her search, she'd located a safe that she figured the combination opened.

Her success finally came in the form of a round room on the second floor with tall windows, she noted down the number with the others and returned it to her pocket. As she did so, the paper escaped her grasp and fluttered to the floor, landing in a beam of moonlight.

When the nine-year-old reached out to collect it, she paused as new words took form beneath the others. A secret number? Whoever did this went all out to hide the Turk he mentioned. She quickly wrote it out in normal ink and made her way back to the room with the safe.

Her bad feeling grew as she neared it this time, did it just shake? When she felt something was wrong, she was usually right . . . even if she didn't usually listen to the ominous waves.

Steeling herself, she looked over the combination once more and then, with the years of practice on her own combo locks, she spun the dial back and forth, completing it despite the stickiness of years of disuse.

Eeps!

She yelped and ducked as the door slammed open and something that was far too big to have fit inside jumped out. For Shiva's sake! It was tall enough that it's head was brushing the ceiling! This was one of those times she had a hard time acting mature . . . she was still only nine, after all, she had the right to be frightened of something nearly twenty feet tall!!

"ICE3!! BOLT3!!" her powerful spells barely made the creature flinch and it quickly sent a Bolt2 back at her, making her tremble at the lingering shock even as she cast Cure followed by another Ice3.

The monster-of-the-safe didn't appreciate that, but this time it responded with a physical attack, knocking her to the side roughly. Luck was on her side as her hand landed on something round and cool, information flooding her mind, she switched out her Ice materia for the red crystal as she scramble to her feet, managing to dodge another blow as she pulled on the magic inside it, raising her hands with surprising speed as the entity inside answered her call.

Feeling the magic of summoning wrap around her protectively, she called out the 'Magic' words to release the casting. The nine-year-old watched in awe as an antlered man and his mount appeared out of a cloud of smoke. He threw his spear and the single strike killed the monster. The Summon turned to face her and nodded his head in respect before disappearing into a smaller cloud.

"Thank you . . . Odin," she whispered as she watched the unnamed being dissolve, clearing the path to the safe, where light glinted off of a small bronze key.

Now, she thought as she collected her prize, tucking her Ice Materia away in her pocket, to find that entrance to the basement. . .

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**23:38 (GST +9) October 13, 1985**

Where was it!? She'd searched every room on both floors for the entrance, but she didn't find anything but dust and spider-webs. She leaned against the wall in defeat and yelped as it slid away, she twisted wildly to avoid falling and when she looked behind her, she was glad she did.

Wide blue eyes locked onto the spiral staircase of haphazardly placed wooden steps, some of which were broken. If she'd fallen backwards . . . shiver.

Taking a hesitant step forward, she sighed in relief as the step held, somewhat calmed, she eyed the steps warily, whoever had built them most certainly had no clue what they were doing. Even she could have done a better job than whoever put this together.

Taking another step, she gained confidence as it didn't give out on her like it's higher cousin and carefully continued to descend the steps, concentrating on being aware in case one of them did break.

After several painstaking moments, she reached the bottom and opened another door to find a cavernous hallway beyond it, wooden beams supported the ceiling, but otherwise it was completely natural in appearance, dirt and stone. Spotting a wire on the wall she found a switch attached to the end, hitting it, she saw several dim lights turn on, illuminating the way enough to see where she was going.

When she took a step into the hallway though, she was accosted by a swarm of bats, one of which managed to nip her arm before she could muster a spell to electrocute them into oblivion. Rubbing the bite mark she decided to leave it, it was small enough to heal on it's own.

She was forced to deal with three more swarms of winged rodents before she nearly walked past a well hidden door, but the light glinting off the lock garnered her attention easily. Recognizing the same metal as the key in her pocket, she pulled it out and quickly inserted it, turning carefully and smiling when she heard a quiet click and it fell open at her touch.

Her jaw dropped open as she looked inside, there were several coffins, one of which was broken, revealing the skeleton inside. Wincing she thought back to the message, was this what the writer had meant by locking the Turk away? Did they kill him? Needing some type of closure to her search, she stepped up to the coffin in the center, it was different, in better condition and it had an inscription on the lip. When she leaned over to read it, the lid shifted and then fell free as something inside pushed it open.

Squeaking in surprise, she stumbled back and fell, tripping over a bone, which made her all but shriek as she scrambled away from it. She dared to look up and froze at the sight of a tall pale man dressed in crimson and black, instantly making her think of Blood Shadow, which her father had read to her when she was younger. Was he . . . a vampire!?

"Sorry!" she whispered quickly, looking away, "I'm really sorry!"

"Why did you disturb me?" his smooth baritone held no emotion and she pulled her legs up to her chest at yet another likeness to the creature of stories

"I just followed the clues," the blonde quickly offered him the two aging papers, "it said you were having a nightmare, I, they locked me in."

"Who locked you in?" Was it just her or did he sound concerned?

"The Pack, they said I could join them if I went into the Manor and brought something out to prove I'd gone in, but they locked me in instead." She said darkly, her anger at the boys rising again. But she fell silent and looked up when she heard him step out and crouch beside her.

"What is your name?"

"Cloud . . . Cloud Strife," she flinched reflexively when he placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her head sharply at the odd feel to stare at the clawed bronze gauntlet in shock.

"Tell me, Cloud," he asked when the blonde finally looked at his face, "What is the date?"

"October 13th, 1985," she managed to reply cautiously.

"So long . . ."

The show of emotion in his widened eyes was enough to give her enough confidence to stifle her fright and frown at him, "How long have you been here? It doesn't look like anybody's been here in years."

"From what you have told me," as he met her gaze evenly, she noted that his crimson eyes were glowing in the dim light, "I have slept here for twelve years."

"That's three years before I was born," she instantly blurted out in surprise, "You've really been sleeping down here that long?"

"I take it you are nine then? I would have assumed eight at your size," he raised an amused eyebrow, further putting her at ease.

Enough to make a face and protest, "I'm tall for a girl!"

"But short for the boy I assumed you to be," he returned dryly.

Cloud blinked and then covered her mouth in shock with a gasp, "Oops . . . I wasn't gonna tell anyone . . ."

"Tell anyone what?" His wry question only strengthened her embarrassment at revealing her newest secret to a complete stranger.

Lowering her head, she tried to hide her blush as she chewed on the lip, "That I'm a girl . . . I disguise myself as a boy because everyone was always underestimating me when they thought I was a girl."

The blue-eyed girl risked a glance at his face to see amusement in his eyes, "How long have you been doing this?"

"Only a year," Cloud answered with a hint of dejection in her voice and then gave him a slightly suspicious look. "Why're you so interested, mister?"

"You intrigue me."

She narrowed her eyes at his simple reply, then shrugged, "Whatever, mister."

"My name is Vincent Valentine."

She smiled slightly at the peace offering, a bit of mischief creeping up, "You look weird Mr. Valentine. And your last name doesn't match you."

"Is that so?" Was that a smirk?

She nodded sagely, "Mm-hmm."

"Tell me about what has happened in recent years," he requested suddenly, getting to his feet.

"Alright," Cloud stood up as well, surprised at how at ease she already felt around the strange man. "I don't know a lot though, I'm only nine."

"Hm."

Departing the room, they were instantly accosted by another swarm of bats. Cloud's face darkened and she immediately pictured Reed and Roy's faces on the bats before raising her arms, the glow of her linked green and blue materia lending Vincent pause.

She was rather young, how did she have materia, let alone know how to use it? His eyes widened even further at her angry comment and following powerful spell. A Bolt3? That was powerful magic . . . this child was growing more interesting by the moment.

The high-pitched shrieks the bats gave upon their violent demise accentuated his mild amusement as he turned his gaze to his blonde 'rescuer,' "What did they do to deserve that?"

"I'm not having a good night," Cloud replied in a combination of exhaustion and satisfaction. "And they aren't helping things any."

This was why Vincent liked children . . . they were unpredictable.

**0-0-0-0-0**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**A/N:** _Finally, done. As of_ _6:50PM 6/20/08_

**Rewritten: 6/20/08**

**Reposted: 10/26/08  
**


	5. Part 1: Chapter 4: Frozen Mercury

**A/N**: _Okay, rewrite five . . . these rewrites are making me quite happy, each one either doubles or gains another 1K. This rewrite in particular is causing me great joy, it's about triple the length of the first version and I threw in a lot more information and layering. Cloud's personality is also more fleshed out and I think I explained her reactions a good deal better._

_Though, I also know that the incident with Tifa should have happened the previous year, but I needed to delay her mother's death for my own reasons._

_Well, shouldn't keep you from this new and improved chapter any longer! Enjoi!_

_**11/24-Fixed formatting problem with the post-cliff scene.**  
_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Tempest The Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 4**

**Frozen Mercury**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**08:09 (GST +9) January 27, 1987**

The young blonde sat in the lone desk-chair in the underground, bent over a black book that she still didn't understand fully. Over the past fifteen months, she'd gotten to know Vincent quite well, in fact, she went to the Manor practically every day, only for a few hours at first, but as time went on, she'd stay longer and longer, until he started to take her presence almost for granted. Some of that time was now taken up with short training sessions, he'd given her a lecture on how you couldn't always rely on magic in combat and then started a simple regimen centered on hand-to-hand combat, not plain martial arts like Master Zangan taught, he was slowly showing her the methods Turks fought with, a style that concentrated on speed and subtlety and when properly used, could subdue or kill with a single blow.

Not that he'd taught her anything but the basics so far, he'd shown her how to do them, but he said her center of balance would be changing soon, and he wouldn't teach her properly until it had settled again. So unfair . . .

In the past few months, she'd also convinced him to let her read some of the files in the Library. He was quite adamant about which ones she was _allowed_ to read, though. Who could blame him? Even some of the things in the nicer files were pretty . . . gruesome, it made her wonder just how bad the others were if these were the pleasant ones.

It was lengthy work, but Cloud had always been stubborn, so she kept at it. She'd formed a routine over time, she'd work her way through a file, listing words she couldn't understand and once she'd read through it once, she'd dig out whichever of the medical dictionaries that were scattered haphazardly on the shelves she needed and then bring the shortened list to Vincent.

It made for interesting searching, the files and books were placed in no particular order, and the spines were more often than not labeled in Wutain or Cetran, making it even more difficult. But then, why would a madman make things easy?

This was her third time reading through this file, one of the few remaining written by Professor Gast, a rather roundabout detailing of the different abilities that were apparent in Cetra, as well as a rather confusing description of the differences between an average Gaean and a Cetra. Despite the difficulty she had in understanding it, she kept at it, due to all the Cetran words he had used, she was actually gaining a loose grasp on the archaic language and the theories while confusing were interesting.

Sighing, she pulled her hands from the file and glared at one of the obscure words, she kept finding words she'd missed in past readings and it was starting to get on her nerves, running a hand through her chin-length spikes in a quickly forming habit, she stood and searched the shelves, eyes darting for a specific label. One she'd quickly memorized after discovering a mysterious trait it had, she was starting to think there was some kind of obscure spell on it. It was always in a different location, at first she'd thought Vincent had been moving it to mess with her head, but she'd soon realized her mistake.

The odd thing was, when she wrote out the label and he searched for it, he couldn't see it, she'd even pointed it out once, he'd touched it and the label changed, becoming an in-depth Summon Materia guide written in Continental. It was maddening how _Shakame soi Risat_ kept disappearing on her, it was a very useful tome too, basically a Cetran Encyclopedia. She still hadn't been able to translate the title . . .

This time it had taken up residence on the top shelf of a lone bookcase, a first as far as she knew, it usually stayed in easy reach. Third or fourth shelf, or even on one of the tables. Feeling safe in the fact that the bookcases were surprisingly sturdy, she climbed the shelves and seized the dark blue cover. As her fingers wrapped around the mildly worn spine, she felt a sudden flash of danger and the bookcase shifted.

An involuntary shriek escaped her lips and she jumped back, reflexively rolling beneath the relative safety of a nearby table with her eyes screwed shut. The meddlesome tome held tightly to the dark orange fabric of her shirt as dust pooled around her.

"Cloud?" jerking at the voice, she slammed her head into the table before she crawled out, a gloved hand helping her to her feet as she rubbed the sore spot. "What happened?"

"The Book was being weird again," she stated with a scowl, glaring down at the strange writing.

"How so?"

"It was on the top shelf of . . . that," she looked towards the fallen bookcase, "I climbed to get it and it fell as soon as I grabbed it."

"You climbed . . .?" the gunslinger looked from the young blonde to the bookcase and sighed, "Why didn't you ask for help, or use a chair?"

"I don't like asking for help," the ten-year-old made a face at the thought.

Raising an eyebrow the crimson-eyed man countered with, "You were asking for help on meanings."

"Learning doesn't count," was her childish reply.

"Hm, so you seem to believe," Stepping forward, Vincent easily lifted the bookcase, shifting it to the side when he noted something on the wall, "A door?"

"What?" Cloud followed his gaze to the well camouflaged door, she wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't pointed it out. "Why would someone put a bookcase in front of a door?"

"To hide it."

As soon as Vincent's booted foot touched the floor, a series of low lights activated, illuminating the room in a pale blue glow as a computer whirred to life. Surrounded by several lines of light on the floor was a man-sized tube, much like the ones in the laboratory. Unlike the others, this one was not empty, it was filled with ice that contained a young woman.

She appeared to be asleep, her pale face relaxed and her gloved hands held close to her body. She was dressed in a plain short dress made of dark grey fabric over a pair of black leggings and her black hair was cut short in the front but hung in a long tail down her back.

Vincent's eyes flickered around the room, intently searching for any traps Hojo may have left behind, he wouldn't put it past the man to place possibly fatal security around a live . . . specimen. Cloud on the other hand immediately stepped up to the tube to take a closer look at its occupant.

"She's . . . like you?" He turned at her question and waited for her to elaborate, "Hojo did something to her and left her behind?"

"So it would seem," he nodded, turning to the stranger and pausing as he spotted movement. She opened her eyes slowly and then locked them onto the interlopers, luminescent silver examining them carefully.

Her mouth shifted ever so slightly into a frown and then her body jerked sharply and a thin crack formed in the ice. A ghost of a grimace marred her features and her eyes slid shut again as something on the monitor changed.

Crimson eyes skimmed the information there, "She's encased in a crystallized form of diluted Mako. To have made even such a small crack speaks highly of her strength."

"You're going to let her out, right?" glancing towards the blue eyes watching him trustingly to the curious silver gaze behind the Mako, he nodded, clawed hand carefully hitting a series of keys.

The glass of the tube turned red and the inside fogged up as pale blue-green liquid began to pool on the bottom, through the draining liquid, they saw her feet lower to the grate on the bottom and moments later, her hand touched the dimming glass, wiping away the condensation forming there.

The last of the Mako solution drained, the door beeped and slid open and she fell onto her hands and knees, liquid evaporating slowly at the exposure to natural air, only the non-mako element remaining behind.

She spat out some more of the liquid and watched as it visibly shrunk before slowly getting to her feet. Wavering for only a moment, the raven-haired woman quickly steadied herself and turned her grateful gaze to the two, "Thank you . . . I've been in there so long I almost forgot how it felt to move. I am Ariadne, friends call me Aria."

"How did you get in there, Miss Ariadne?" Cloud quickly asked, eliciting a frown from the woman.

"Aria," she corrected pointedly before her frown grew more bewildered, "And, actually . . . I don't remember how I got here."

"Hojo."

"I know that name . . ." she stared at the ceiling as she pondered the name, then dropped her head, meeting his eyes in interest, "Who is this Hojo?"

"He is a . . . scientist," His voice darkened at the use of the loose term.

"Sigh-in . . . test?" She cocked her head and turned to Cloud in search of an easier to understand answer. "What is that?"

"Someone who studies things," she tried to find an accurate description.

"You mean like a scholar?" She blinked with a frown, causing the blonde to frown as well at the unfamiliar term.

"Somewhat," Vincent acquiesced with a nod. "He was a madman with no sense of humanity."

Ariadne turned back to him with a blank face, "He sounds like the man my mother fought before I was born," she blinked and surprise and confusion leaked into her features, "I . . . have no idea what I meant by that . . ."

Hearing the blonde laugh brightly, she continued to blink, exaggerating her wonder comically in an attempt to make that pleasant sound continue.

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**09:51 (GST +9) April 2, 1987**

"Cloud," the ten-year-old looked up in surprise from _Shakame soi Risat_ in surprise at the unusual interruption. Vincent stood in the doorway, watching her, eyes trailing towards the refilled and the revealed door beside it for a moment, "You should go outside. Your mother will start to worry at not seeing you outside from time to time during the day."

"But . . . what would I do? I don't have any friends here," she replied with a sigh as she looked down at an illustration on the page she had been reading. A picture of a Cetran woman praying, white light wrapping around her to form a shield of sorts. "Except for you and Aria."

"Have you tried talking to anyone who is not a member of the Pack?" the raven-haired man questioned, crossing his arms, "From what I recall, the Pack is not the entirety of the children, only the boys from the older families."

"Not really," she replied sheepishly.

He walked over and took the book from her grasp, the picture instantly shifting into a medical diagram as the cover turned black and gold. "Try, your studies will not suffer overmuch."

"Well . . ." she looked down at her boots for a moment, then got to her feet and offered him a slight grin, "I guess you're right, I should try."

"Never give up, isn't that what you like to say?" she laughed quietly at his comment and on impulse, gave him a quick hug, confidence rising when he half returned it with his clawed hand. "Go."

"See you later, Vincent," she pulled away and quickly darted from the room, dodging bats as she made her way to the surface. It wasn't so much dodging as scaring them off with a half-charged Bolt, the creatures had become fairly traumatized over the past year and half, their numbers repeatedly culled by the electrical blonde when she was in a bad mood.

"Morning Cloud," she started at Aria's voice, looking up in time to see her jump off the top of the gate to stand beside her. "Vin kick you out of the Library?"

Over the few weeks since they had released the amnesiac woman, she'd integrated herself into their lives as easily as Cloud had previously to Vincent. She was intelligent and rather playful at times, almost like a kid herself, in fact, she acted more like a child than Cloud did despite her knowledge. She was always trying to get the blonde to laugh and always seemed to know where Vincent was. It had become something of a game between the two. Who was more aware of the other. No winner had been decided as of yet, they were both too good.

"Aria?" Cloud frowned at the sight of the mercury-eyed woman, "What're you doing . . . outside?"

She simply laughed and leaned against the wall, "I needed some fresh air, unlike Vin I can't stay cooped up indoors forever, besides, I wanted to see the village."

"But what if somebody sees you!"

The raven-haired woman simply shook her head with a grin, "It'll be fine, I'm normal enough to get away with it. My only dilemma might be people wondering where exactly I live . . . since nobody saw me enter the village."

The blue-eyed magic-user could help but smile at her silver-eyed companion's exaggerated verbal thoughts. Just another example of her playful personality.

"Anyways . . . where are your friends?"

She frowned slightly as her blonde friend started and hung her head, "I don't have any."

"You . . .don't have any friends?" When the younger female shook her head, Aria closed her eyes in thought, a ten-year-old without any friends her age? Even if she didn't remember her past, she knew that that wasn't right. Cloud should have at least one friend around her age, if not more. Coming to a decision, she straightened and winked. "We'll see about that my chocobo-haired friend."

As the enigmatic woman vaulted the wall and disappeared around a corner, Cloud watched her in a mix of surprise, confusion and trepidation. Exactly what was her impish friend up to now? And should she be afraid?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**12:27 (GST +9) April 2, 1987**

It had been some hours since the blonde had lost sight of Ariadne, and the lack of her presence was setting the ten-year-old on edge. So on edge, that she couldn't bring herself to read or train and instead lay down under the only tree in the yard and stare at the sky.

Eventually though, she relaxed enough to let her eyes slide shut.

"Fall asleep here and you might catch a cold," Cloud's eyes snapped open to find a somewhat familiar girl with dark hair leaning over her.

"Why are you so surprised, am I ugly or something?" she tilted her head, wine-colored eyes curious.

"No!" the blonde instantly protested and then calmed herself down as she sat up, "Sorry, I didn't hear you come up."

"That's okay, you're Cloud, right?"

"Huh?"

"I heard my brother talking about you," she grinned impishly as she continued, "The chocobo-head that moved in next door. Mind if I sit down?"

"Uh-of course not!"

The long-haired girl immediately took a seat beside her, "By the way, I'm Tifa."

"You're the mayor's daughter, aren't you?"

"Yep," she folded her arms over her knees, "What about you? Why'd you move out here?"

"We used to live in Kalm, but after Papa died . . . we decided to move here, because Mother grew up in this house. We didn't have anywhere else to go," Cloud looked up at her namesakes passing overhead. "We wanted a new start, you know?"

"I think I understand," red met blue, "My mother died a few months ago . . ."

"The woman with the dark hair," the blonde whispered in realization, seeing the resemblance, "She was nice, she told me she was happy that mother and I came to Nibelheim."

"Guess we're the same then, we've both lost a parent," Tifa smiled suddenly, "Wanna be friends?"

Cloud tilted her head to one side, considering. She was the first person her age to actually want to be her friend. They had similar experiences, though she doubted Tifa's mother had died protecting her in battle, from what she remembered, Mrs. Lockhart had died from sickness. It was close enough for camaraderie though.

"Alright," she nodded, offering the younger girl a small smile.

Above them, hidden in the branches of the tree, familiar silver eyes looked down at her surrogate sibling in pride. This was how it should be. Two friends with similar pasts could go a long way together. She'd do her best to make sure it happened.

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**16:36 (GST +9) June 18, 1987**

Ever since Cloud had befriended Tifa, she spent less time in the Manor, only six hours, two for training and four for studying, she'd have lunch and then look for Tifa. Today though, it had taken her quite some time to locate the brunette, she realized why when she found her with Reed and the youngest member of the Pack, a sandy-haired boy with dark blue eyes named Patrick.

They were on the very edge of the village, just outside the barrier that warded off the monsters. Using all her training, she silently crossed the barrier and hid behind a tree before the three could spot her. They were up to something . . . They were looking up at the mountain, but why?

"I wonder if there's anything beyond that mountain?" Due to her positioning, Tifa's voice carried easily to her location. There was something beyond the mountain, she mused with a scowl, the reactor and . . . something else, something important that Vincent refused to tell her just yet.

"Mt. Nibel is scary," the blue-eyed boy said quietly, "Many people have died there. No one crosses that mountain alive . . ." Superstition, many people had crossed the mountain, too, it was just there were too many strong monsters and dragons up there.

"How about those that died," Wait, what? Tifa? What're you thinking? "Did Mama pass through the mountain? I'm going!"

"Tifa!" Reed called as she ran off, then sighed, shaking his head as she ran up the path, "Stupid sis, the mountain's too dangerous."

"Reed! Come on!" Patrick tugged on his arm frantically, "We gotta tell your dad!"

Reed hesitated and Cloud felt anger rise inside her. Was he just going to let her go? His own sister? Was he going to abandon her to the dangers of the mountain? How dare he even think of doing something like that! He could have stopped her!

"You're right, let's go," Reed nodded to the younger boy and started back into the village at a jog.

Her hand twisted into a fist, Cloud glared at his back and then ran after Tifa, there wasn't enough time to get help. She'd gotten a lecture from her mother when they'd first arrived about the danger of the mountain. In her rush, she didn't realize that she'd made enough noise to catch the elder Lockhart's ear, who turned in time to see her before she ran out of sight.

Realizing she was now out of hearing of the two boys, she put on a final burst of speed, mentally thanking Vincent's training as the ground seemed to blur beneath her feet and Tifa's back came into view.

"Tifa!!" The ebonette spun in shock, where had 'he' come from? And he was so fast . . . She took a step back in surprise as 'his' voice reached her, "It's not safe!" Too late. The ground crumbled beneath her foot and she fell back with a piercing scream. Cloud's hand seized hers and it seemed for a moment everything would be okay. Until the ground gave way beneath the blonde as well. The blue-eyed magic-user mentally cursed as they tumbled down the cliffside. 

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**17:09 (GST +9) June 18, 1987**

Beside a quietly babbling stream, two tussled figures lay still, the first with long dark hair and a simple dress, the other a blonde in an orange shirt and loose brown pants. At first glance, they seemed perfectly fine, but if someone looked closer, they'd see the rock beneath the blonde's head and the numerous scrapes and bruises, freshly loosened rubble scattered around them.

The blonde slowly sat up, blue eyes slightly glazed as she rubbed the sensitive spot on the side of her head, she groaned quietly, "Where am I? Owww . . . Oh shit." Her groan turned into fright as she spotted the body only a few feet away and her memory came flashing back.

/_As they fell, Cloud saw a root sticking out of the cliff side and seized it, grimacing as her body slammed into the rocky wall and something snapped. Unluckily, the force of the stop jarred Tifa's hand from her grasp and she continued her fall. The blonde was forced to watch as her friend's body hit the sloping cliff and tumbled down to a stop against a small tree._ _Her grip failed a moment later and she skidded down, scrambling to keep a grip on the cliff, before slipping and hitting her head._/

Attempting to rise to her feet, she gritted her teeth as pain shot through her body. Quickly sitting back down, she took several deep breaths and took stock of her injuries as Vincent had ingrained into her after some more brutal training sessions. 'Always be aware if your body.' Her hands were scraped up badly, dirt and grime ground into the wounds, scratches littered her arms and from the feel of it her face as well, touching her head, her fingers came away clean, so it was either a plain bump or at the worst a closed fracture and a concussion. There was a localized pain in her chest when she breathed too deeply, so one of her ribs . . . fractured or bruised. Looking farther south, she grimaced at the sight of her knees: the fabric of her pants had been shredded, allowing the fall to scrape the skin right off to reveal the muscle and bone beneath.

Closing her eyes and using all her concentration to keep calm, she reached for her wrist, only to pause as she remembered something Vincent had said, a concussion, being an injury to the brain, often interfered with the casting of magic, especially on oneself. Reaching towards her pocket, she sighed in relief upon locating not one, but two intact potions. She looked over at Tifa guiltily but upon spotting the steady rise and fall of her chest, steeled herself, she was the only one conscious, she couldn't help or protect Tifa unless she took care of her own wounds first.

Carefully, she pushed herself over to the river and onto an overhanging rock and tugged off her thoroughly scuffed boots with her intact fingertips, socks following quickly, then pushed herself into the clean mountain water, hissing at the pressure on her knees. With forced movements, she dipped her hands into the water and washed them before carefully rubbed the raw flesh of her knees to rid them of dirt.

Feeling somewhat satisfied and unable to stand the chilly pressure anymore, she leaned back and scooted back onto the overhang, quickly ripping off the bottoms of her torn pants and squeezing as much water as she could free. They'd make good makeshift bandages until she could get to the Manor.

Reaching up the back of her shirt she tugged a small knife free from it's holster, both a gift from Aria only a few weeks ago, she'd been very insistent about the knife being worn in that location at all times. In fact, whenever she'd dared to take it off, the raven-haired woman seemed to appear out of thin air with a stern scowl. It was rather spooky, in fact, it made her creepier than Vincent, who could look creepy without trying!

Shaking her head to clear the memories, she sliced the fabric into strips and wrapped two thinner ones around her palms before painstakingly pouring half of one of the potions onto either knee, healing them most of the way and then wrapping the still-bleeding wounds with thicker strips to prevent infection. Left with one more strip, she wrapped it around her chest over where the pain was, just in case.

Finally satisfied with her work, she pulled her socks and boots back on and made her way to Tifa's side. There were no visible wounds worse than a scrape or bruise, though the bruise on her back was already turning several colors from impacting with the tree. Opening her other potion, she managed to force the unconscious brunette to swallow most of it, healing most of the bruises.

"Come on, Tifa," Cloud shook her shoulder gently and grimacing when she received no response, "Wake up! Please?"

"How're we gonna get back . . .?" She looked up at the top of the cliff and then looked to the sides, was there a way back up? Wait . . . Didn't the river come closer to the village downstream? There had to be a path over there.

Nodding to herself, she reached down and pulled Tifa's arm over her shoulders, "Hang on." If only she'd been a little faster . . . Tifa would have been alright.

Cloud froze and concentrated on her ever-trusty Bolt Materia as she heard something in the brush to the side. She stepped back and lowered the unconscious brunette to the ground. When she saw the faces of the two men coming into sight, she wished it had been a dragon instead. Roy's father and Michael, the mayor's younger brother. Two people who most definitely did not like her. And boy did they look _angry_.

"Cloud!" the redhead snapped, waving one fist at her her, "Why'd you bring Tifa to a place like this!"

_Wha-what? I didn't . . ._ "What the hell's the matter with you!" She could only stare as Michael seized the front of her shirt and pulled her off the ground. His face was murderous . . . _who . . ._?

"What if she dies!?" at that comment, her face hardened and she yanked herself free of the tall man's grasp. If this was what she got for trying to help her friend . . . then the village could go to hell in a hand-basket for all she cared!

"Get back here!"

Cloud ignored both the shouts and the pain in her body as she darted into the forest, a small part of her mind guiding her feet unerringly for the Manor, while the rest was centered on the villagers. They'd disliked her before, but had endured her for the most part because her mother was a born and raised Nibel. She may have looked like her mother, but all they saw was an outsider.

Xenophobic Nibelheim. Now they had somehow come to the conclusion it was her fault that the _mayor_'s daughter was hurt . . .

The instincts that her training both before and with Vincent had ingrained were the only thing that allowed her to avoid the fist that shot for her head when she entered the village, she ducked and stumbled to the side, quickly getting back to her feet as she took stock of her surroundings.

Foremost was none other than Roy, his eyes narrowed into a dark glare, "Why'd ya have to go and get Tifa hurt!?"

Scowling, the Kalm-raised girl didn't bother to redirect his anger, like he'd really take her words over those of a native . . . they'd consider her mother biased as well. So it would be better to just keep her out of it, right?

"Little foreign brat!!" She saw the incoming fist and shifted, but her injuries made her slower than usual, his attack hit her shoulder and she spun with the force.

Glaring harshly, she returned the gesture with a series of moves that made her body ache. A punch to the face, another to the stomach and a whip kick that sent him stumbling back into a crate while her knees screamed in protest.

Clenching her fists, Cloud watched him struggle to free himself from the ruins of the crate and stiffened when Patrick stepped up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder, "Cloud? Are you alright?"

"Leave me alone!" she growled and shoved him off and continued at a run to her destination.

The sandy-haired boy looked after her and shook his head, 'Cloud . . . we don't all hate you. Me and Tifa and Sarah and Zangan, we all like you. You let Tifa in . . . can't you do the same for us?'

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**17:36 (GST +9) June 18, 1987**

When Cloud came stumbling into the room that the two former experiments typically inhabited, the pair was involved in a game of chess, the gunslinger trying to keep a stoic mask as his opponent moved her 'named' pieces across the board and voiced their movements, due to that, the blonde heard something about Fort Condor attacking Professor Hojo as she entered the room.

"Cloud, what happened?" she looked up, surprised to find Vincent already beside her and guiding her into a seat, his crimson gaze quickly analyzing her injuries.

"You're hurt," the gray-clad woman delicately removed the cloth wrappings and hissed angrily at the sight of her wounds, face hardening into a mask Cloud had only seen a few times before, on her father's face when she'd gotten hurt.

"Fell off a cliff and then Roy started a fight," she said quietly as Vincent dug out a Restore materia and concentrated the healing energy on her wounds specifically instead of channeling through a verbal spell. The skin on her knees knitted back together slowly as Aria's piercing gaze searched her eyes.

"There's more to it than that," her voice was oddly soft, "You don't get into fights for no reason, you take others opinions too seriously for that . . . you wouldn't want the villagers more angry than they already are."

"So what?" the blonde grumbled darkly, "Not like they like me, anyway."

"See, that's exactly what I'm saying," Shaking her head, Aria took the materia from Vincent's hands, "You don't care if you're alone?"

"What's the use? Not like I can make them like me," Cloud retorted as Vincent stood and left the two females to it.

"Why are you letting them get to you?" The healing light fell over her hands as she lifted her face in denial.

"I'm not!"

"Sure you're not," Aria drawled impishly, her infectious humor spreading easily to the young blonde, "And _I'm_ the Empress of Wutai."

"You are?" Cloud replied in mock awe, it just went to show how much Aria had become a part of her life, how well she knew her, that she could turn her from sulking anger to mischievous.

"Brat," she whacked the blonde's shoulder half-heartedly, "I don't even look Wutain."

"Actually . . ." the raven-haired woman raised an eyebrow, "You look a little Wutain, your eyes are too narrow for a Continental."

Sticking out her tongue playfully, she smiled and asked, "Any other injuries, my spiky-haired friend?"

"My head and here," she pointed to the spot on her ribs and the mercury-eyed woman quickly turned her ministrations to the revealed injuries.

"You shouldn't let their opinions get you down, they don't know you like we do."

"Then what should I do?"

"Pick a goal," Aria didn't look away from the glow of the materia as she spoke, "Something you can work hard on . . . then go for it. As the saying goes," she offered her a grin as she pulled away, "Reach for Lycil's Palace, even if you miss, you'll reach her dominion."

"Huh?" Cloud blinked in confusion, what was she going on about? Lycil's Palace? Dominion? Wha?

"The goddess of the moon among my mother's people," she explained patiently, "Lycil is one of the major divinities and the mother of Mira, the goddess of all who sneak amidst the darkness. The Moon is where her Palace stands and each of the each and every star is the light of the home of one of her people."

"Ohh," the ten-year-old nodded as she sifted through the new information.

The amnesiac chuckled and ruffled her hair before standing, "Think on it, alright? Figure out what you want to do and I will do everything in my power to make sure you reach your goal. You can prove them all wrong . . . not that it matters." She adopted an innocent look and pretended to count the spiders on the ceiling, eliciting a giggle from her self-appointed charge, with a wink, she looked back down, "Proving people wrong is always a morale boost, now, you better head home and see your mother before she starts to worry, I need to go give this," she tossed the subject of her mission into the air and caught it playfully, "Back to Vin before he thinks we stole it."

Cloud pursed her lips as Aria left, mind already side-tracked as she headed for the door,_ 'What's a morale boost?'_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**A/N:** _Well, five of six finished at 5,763 words as of 8:20PM on 6/22/08._

Name: Ariadne

Meaning: Most Holy

Pronounced: Ah-ree-AHD-nee

Alias/Nicknames: Aria, Sil

Age: Unknown

Race: Unknown

Hair: Blue-black, layered

Eyes: Mako silver

Bio: Aria is a mystery even unto herself, discovered frozen in a secret room beneath Shinra Mansion, she becomes an integral part of both Cloud and Vincent's lives. Despite her lack of memory, she knows a lot about the world, and always goes out of her way to keep other people happy. They aren't sure quite how old she is, but her usually playful attitude seems to indicate that she is rather young, at least mentally.

**Rewritten: 6/22/08**

**Reposted: 10/26/08  
**


	6. Part 1: Chapter 5: Quicksilver

**A/N: **_Final rewrite!! Chyah! Just a note for everyone, the ages in the last chapter were accurate, Tifa was in fact nine at the time of the accident and since she's a year younger than Cloud . . . Well, actually, I might have skewed it, because another source said they were eight and nine . . . So, I hope you're liking the additional depth so far, let's see what I can do with this chapter! Once I post the following chapter, you lot are sure going to have a lot of reading to do __**–grins widely–**__ Make sure to read every chapter!_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Tempest The Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 5**

**Quicksilver**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**05:22 (GST +9) August 19, 1987**

_It was a normal dream, Cloud was back in Kalm, walking through the village with her father, it was still early and he was taking her to buy a present for her mother's birthday._

"_What about a new pair of earrings?" he asked, looking over at the jewelry store, "She's always loved earrings. . ."_

"_I think a necklace would be better, I saw this pendant shaped like Odin a few days ago, isn't he her family's patron Summon?"_

"_True," he nodded, "She used to have one of those when you were little, she lost it during that fire five years ago."_

"_What's our Summon again?"_

"_Originally it was the three incarnations of Bahamut, but we also answer to Knights of the Round and Shiva, one of our ancestors married a woman from Round Island when there were still people there and we were in Junon for several generations."_

"_So, Bahamut is our primary, the Knights are our secondary and Shiva is our . . . tertiary?" she struggled over the unfamiliar word._

"_That's right, have you been studying hard again?" he smiled proudly as she nodded, "That's my girl."_

_She gasped when he suddenly disappeared and spun at the sudden silence to find that the rest of the town was abandoned. Even as she looked, it seemed to age, as if it had been empty for years. The watch towers were crumbling, the water tower was rusted and filled with holes, the water within long gone, broken windows creaked in the still air . . ._

"_So . . . you are the one," The blonde turned to find a blurry figure standing only a few feet away, their form masked by shadows, the only thing clear were their wings. "Such a weak child."_

_Some small part of her mind told Cloud she should be afraid, she should be running, getting as far from this entity as she could. This . . . thing wasn't supposed to be here._

_This was wrong._

"_But you have potential," Shade growled in anger, half-raising a hand as if to wrap it around her throat, "Great potential, just as they said you would . . ."_

_Where before she had been frozen in place, now she found herself ducking as something flew overhead and the wind stirred by it's wings sent the stranger skidding back with an angry snarl. The newcomer landed between them, it's large form blocking her from the interloper's sight._

_She wasn't paying attention to that, all her attention was on the DRAGON that had appeared before her. Unlike the dragons that occupied the mountain, this draconic being was somehow elegant despite it's large size, almost . . . feminine in appearance. Each of her perfectly smooth scales was like mythril, a silver tinted by blue. Polished ivory spikes adorned her wings menacingly and twin horns just as magnificent aimed rearward. _

_There was a power there beneath the surface, a power far greater than a normal monster, this was a true dragon of myth. Kin to Bahamut himself, a dragon of great power and wisdom. Draconan. Protector of Humanity . . ._

_The dragon's actions distracted her from her observations as she hissed her threat at the Shade. When she spoke, her voice was surprisingly melodic, but the pleasant effect it should have given was twisted by venomous anger._

'_You will not touch her! Begone!' the voice rang through not only the air, but their minds as well, despite this, the stranger merely smirked, an action visible despite the shadows._

"_And if I do not?"_

'_Then I shall make you wish to burn in the hottest fires of the Netherworld!' the growl was accompanied by white flames leaking from her jaws._

"_Damned lizard," the winged figure muttered spitefully but faded out in departure all the same._

_With a whuff of smoke, the dragon sat back on her haunches and craned her neck to look back at Cloud, black-slit violet orbs warm and surprisingly gentle, 'I will always protect you, little sister, be it mentally or physically, I will always come for you.'_

_She shifted and nuzzled her hair fondly, a sound not unlike a purr vibrating through the touch, causing her to close her eyes . . ._

Only to open them to the sight of her bedroom ceiling as the feeling faded away. Sitting up, her gaze slid over the shapes forming on the floor from the morning light passing through her window.

"What a weird dream . . ." Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she shifted to let her feet touch the cold floor, waking her up further as she reached under her pillow. Father had always said that dreams could hold important messages and that she should write them down if they seemed significant.

The mildly scuffed tawny cover of the little-used journal he'd given her for her fifth birthday in hand, she pulled a tooth-marked pen from . . . somewhere also known as the floor and started to write.

_August, 1987_

_My dream was fairly normal at first, I don't remember ever hearing about the family Summons before . . . someone or something interrupted it though._

_I couldn't see the person's face, and their voice was too neutral to accurately assume their gender. Their features were hidden by shadows but I know two things for certain, they had a very unique set of wings, six of them, all tinted violet and that this person is bad news._

_Shade, I suppose I'll call them for now, Shade called me weak and said something about someone saying I had great potential for something, something that threatened it. I wasn't able to discover any more than that, because a Dragon, yes, a DRAGON, stepped, or rather flew in to interrupt. She was beautiful, the color of mythril with the strangest purple eyes._

_I don't know her name but after calling me little sister and her oath to protect me, I could feel the truth and honesty in her words, I don't think she could have lied to me even if she tried . . . who is she?_

_And why are they interested in me?_

Setting her pen down, she watched absently as it rolled across the drying ink, leaving light marks along the way, then fell to the floor, bumped into the chest and ricocheted under the bed where it stopped almost immediately upon coming in contact with a piece of misplaced laundry.

Mind somewhat numb as the particulars of her dream faded away, she looked around her room, eyes falling on some of the more important items that littered it.

A photo on the shelf of the day her father came back from Midgar for the last time, still wearing his uniform, he held her four-year-old self in his left arm while his right was wrapped around a younger Piper's waist as someone, probably Leo, took the photo.

A half-colored sketch was tacked to the wall behind her, depicting a child in orange with chocobo feathers instead of hair and yellow-feathered wings on her back. Lounging on a boulder beside the child was a serpentine woman with leathery wings dressed in gray and behind the both of them was a third figure, a shadowy man with torn black wings and grey skin dressed in red, his eyes, one golden the other crimson, seeming to dare anyone who saw them to touch the picture at risk of their well-being.

Ariadne had quite the interesting imagination, didn't she?

Next, was the special fire-proof metal of her keepsake box, barely visible from beneath the edge of her bookcase. It was about two feet long, one wide and six inches thick, made out of a thick insulated metal alloy that Sky had bought for her when she was born, he hadn't given it to her for several more years, after he'd gotten multiple locks installed on it for her. Most of the time, she kept her triple-locked Materia Box inside it, several of her father's things, like his journals and Shinra-issue materia bangle, various papers and pictures as well as a very special weapon that her father had rarely used even before he left Shinra, a prototype that had gone unused as only a natural with both the sword and firearms could use one without years of intense training. Like with his sword, Piper had refused to get rid of it, instead saving it for some unspoken time.

The next item was a pair of plated gloves, a joint 'thank you' and 'early birthday present' from both Tifa and Zangan, at the time, Zangan had also offered to take her into his lessons, but she had refused, giving the excuse that she didn't want to disrupt his class with her presence, though really, it was because she already had a perfectly good teacher. The nice thing about the plating was that it wasn't obvious, which meant when she used them, sentient opponents would be rather surprised by the hardness of any blows.

Finally, her eyes fell on the homemade calendar tacked to the wall, several day boxes crossed out with black while the most recent one and it's labeling was circled in red. Cloud's lips turned into a wide grin, she'd been waiting weeks for today. Weeks of having a hard time concentrating in both training and studying as she anticipated the special day.

After all, every child looks forward to their birthday, don't they?

Realizing the ink had finally dried, the blonde snapped the journal shut and tucked it away before preparing for the day in a whirlwind of motion. Her new gloves yanked onto her hands and all her wayward clothing collected at some point in the chaotic process. She paused in the newly opened door for half a second, nose noting that her mother was awake and cooking.

Cloud abruptly turned back into the room when she realized her right wrist didn't feel quite right and snatched her Armlet from where it had fallen on the floor and slipping it back into it's rightful place on her wrist. Now she was fully 'armed' just like the three Shinra-touched fighters had ingrained into her instincts.

It wasn't really that bad, to be eleven and already be trained for battle, was it? Sometimes she felt older than the calendar told her she was, but that was easy to explain, wasn't it, you age when you see death for the first time.

Descending the stairs, she thought she heard voices, but reaching the bottom and seeing only her mother washing the pans she used for breakfast, the blonde dismissed it as her imagination.

"Good Morning, Cloud!" Piper smiled brightly and abandoned the dishes to set out a plate of food as her daughter approached the table. "Zangan and I are going to Stonheim for some supplies, you can find something to keep yourself busy while I'm gone, can't you?"

"Um, of course, Mother," the younger blonde stumbled over her words in surprise. She was going to Stonheim today? Did she . . . forget?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**05:28 (GST +9) August 19, 1987**

"Cloud's eleven today," Piper smiled as she finished her work over the stove and set out plates, her eyes trailing to the flat package on the counter neatly wrapped in plain brown paper.

"Excuse me, Ms. Strife?" the blonde straightened sharply at the voice and turned to find a stranger standing only a few feet away, why hadn't she heard her come in? She should have heard the door squeak, it needed oil and she hadn't gotten around to it yet.

"Yes?" she estimated the woman was in her twenties, but she never was that good at guessing someone's age.

"I was wondering if you could help me with something . . ."

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**06:24 (GST +9) August 19, 1987**

The blonde was so depressed as she made her way to the Manor that she didn't notice a grey-clad form slip past her, heading for the western entrance, the one that lead to Stonheim. Mercury eyes gazed back at the girl for a moment, a thoughtful frown creasing the owner's lips before she disappeared.

The monsters of the Manor proved wise that morning, giving Cloud a wide berth as she headed for the depths, maybe they were as aware of emotion as some scientists claimed or maybe they were simply asleep, but they didn't bother her whatsoever.

She paused in the room with the secret passage, looking over at the bed that Aria had claimed for her own, the sheets neatly lying there stated she'd already woken up. On the table beside the bed rested a pile of thin books and a necklace she didn't recognize. Listening hard, she heard silence from the next room over, so she knew neither one was in the den as Cloud had mentally dubbed it, it probably had a different name, though.

Shaking her head she continued down, finally following the sound of typing to the room that had held Aria frozen. The lights were off, leaving him barely illuminated by the low light of the screen.

"Vincent?" Cloud looked into the dimly lit room curiously, they never really came in here, well, sometimes she found Aria in there, staring at the tube that had held her, but she and Vincent never came in there.

Both clawed and un-clawed hands paused their work and he turned his head slightly, "Hm?"

"What're you doing?"

"Searching for any information of Ariadne's past," the vampiric man stated as he typed something and frowned, "The encryption is much more advanced than anything I've seen before." She nearly giggled at his use of Aria's full name, it was an ongoing argument between the two, he only called her Aria when she called him Vincent, but as she insisted on calling him Vin so much, he'd decided to retort by calling her Ariadne. They were a very odd pair.

"Do you know where she went?" He hadn't remembered either then. . .

Vincent shook his head, returning his attention to the screen as a new line of coding appeared, "I haven't seen her today."

The blonde sighed heavily and shook her head, she remembered telling them both when her birthday was, it seemed that they must have forgotten. She might as well get to studying again, perhaps skim through the_ Shakame soi Risat_?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**18:03 (GST +9) August 19, 1987**

She was trying to translate an entry on the different affinities of the Cetra when she thought she heard something.

There were several different kinds of Cetra, some more common than others. The rarest were the Sharan, the Warrior-Mages. A Sharan trained from childhood in the art of mixing magic with a weapon. Fierce warriors who followed a strict Code of Honor, the path of Sharan was not hereditary like most, instead, they were marked by the planet with purple eyes. Next came the Varela, the Earth-Speakers, these Cetra were known for their ability to commune with plant-life and were very passive beings. Varela were scholars and healers by nature and it pained them greatly to harm anyone.

Then, there was a third type, the Marsai, the Beast-Speakers, unlike their honor-bound and passive cousins, the Marsai are a people tainted by wanderlust, bonded to another being's mind from childhood, they would take on many characteristics of their bond-mate. They were by far the most diverse of Cetra. Avians were flighty and loved high and windy places. Canines were protective and traveled in groups, playful and loyal with a love of the hunt. Felines were aloof, elegant and patient. The characteristics they took on were not only mental but often physical: Avians were small and slender, built for speed, Canines were wiry, physical powerhouses and Felines were tall with a subtle grace, often with slit pupils.

Though, slit pupils were also a draconic trait she now knew, it wasn't documented anywhere as no one cared to get close enough to take a closer look. Had there ever been a dragon-bound Cetra? Or a snake-bound for that matter?

Cloud shook her head and looked around warily, she could've _sworn_ she'd heard someone just now, was she just being paranoid? She set down the encyclopedia and notes quietly and stood up.

Creak.

She was looking around the end of the bookcase in seconds to see only books.

Creak.

Nothing behind her . . . she waited for another creak and inwardly cursed when all she received was silence. Where in Shiva's name had whatever it was gone? It wasn't a monster was it? She hadn't seen anything heavy and quick enough to do this around here.

Black Bats, Dorky Faces, Ghirofelgos, Jerseys, Mirages, Yings and Yangs were more than enough. Though, it was quite rare to see them inside anymore, they'd learned to fear the trio and you never saw Sahagin, those stayed in the sewer tunnels beneath the basement, were Hojo would dispose of his failures.

The blonde shrieked as something jumped in front of her but sheepishly stifled it as she recognized the raven-haired woman, laughter in her silver eyes as she shook her head in mirth.

"Catch!" Blue eyes widened and her hand instinctively reached up and snatched the tiny black package out of the air to stare at it blankly as her stalker chirped, "Happy Birthday, Cloud!"

"You . . . remembered?" Cloud's jaw dropped in astonishment, had she fallen asleep without noticing and was currently dreaming they'd remembered? No, she knew how dreams felt and this felt too real to be a dream.

Aria grinned and gave her a one-armed hug as she crowed, "Of course I remembered! We both did," As if her words were a signal, and they most likely were, Vincent stepped into sight with a larger cloth-wrapped package encased firmly in his bronzed gauntlet. "Now, open your presents."

Searching the small package it took her a little time to find the nigh-invisible thread that held the cloth closed. A swift jerk, and the cloth fell open to reveal a silver ring, "What is it?" It was something of a misconception that you could read an accessory like materia, though, people who were well-versed in magic could sense out the enchantments and give you a fairly accurate name. The Strife heir wasn't quite that proficient yet. Give her a few more years.

"This," the grey-clad woman seized her free hand and slid the band onto her index finger, "Is a Fairy Ring. It gives you an immunity to poison and darkness as long as you wear it. It could come in handy some day."

She examined it closely and found tiny wings and bubbles engraved across the surface and smiled, she should've known better. It was true that her formerly crystallized friend had amnesia, but she had to have the most accurate memory of anyone she'd met. "Thank you."

"Cloud," the birthday girl looked up to find the cloaked man holding out his present to her, though, she had to wonder, how had he gotten it, whatever it was, since he never left the Manor. "It's time you learned to fight with a weapon."

Parting the cloth she found a silver handgun, the leather grip softer than she knew a new gun would be, leading her to believe it was one of his older weapons, but the metal was unmarred, in perfect condition, polished clean but not enough to reflect a dangerous amount of light. An image from her father's weapon log flashed to the forefront of her mind. "It's a Quicksilver, right?"

He nodded and she stifled a grin as she caught sight of a smile behind the collar of his cloak, "Very good, Cloud."

On the subject of weapons, she knew Vincent was a master sharpshooter as well as hand-to-hand-combatant, a skill enhanced dangerously by his gauntlet, but what did Aria use? She was skilled with knives, but that wasn't a primary weapon, was it? "Aria? What type of weapon do you use?"

Mercury eyes blinked slowly in surprise and she frowned slightly, "Ah . . . I use a weapon called a Jetted Crescent Hammer. Speaking of which, I need to make a new one soon . . ." She looked away in thought and Cloud furrowed her brow. A Jetted Crescent Hammer, what on Gaia was that? What was a Jetted weapon?

Vincent's surprise seemed to stem from a different part of her statement though, did he know what her weapon was? "You make your own weapons?"

"Yes," she nodded happily, "Jetted weapons are my specialty, it's been a tradition in my Clan since before the Guardians were created." She remained oblivious to the looks her two friends exchanged at the unfamiliar terms.

"Hm."

The blonde fighter-in-training couldn't have said it better herself. Every time they thought they'd figured her out, the silver-eyed woman threw out a new tidbit of information for them to digest. The thing was, she never seemed to notice that her memories seemed to be returning, bit by tiny bit. Vincent and Cloud noticed and Cloud for one was happy for her, but how long would it take for the amnesiac woman to remember who she really was?

Should she be afraid? Was the real Aria someone completely different from the one they knew? A stranger in a familiar body . . . was there something in her past that it was better left forgotten? Something that would change her utterly?

She had to wonder though, what was this Clan of hers and who were the Guardians she spoke of?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**21:10 (GST +9) August 19, 1987**

When Cloud returned home hours later, it was with a smile on her face and her new weapon strapped in place beside her knife. It was late, she knew, dinner would be cold by now, whatever it was. She saw a light on downstairs and her smile faltered. Had her mother truly forgotten or was it all an act just like Vincent?

Piper looked up as soon as her daughter opened the door and the blonde was surprised to see another person beside her . . . what was Zangan doing here?

"Happy Birthday, Cloud," the Nibel-born woman smiled and hugged the younger female before handing her a brown package.

Cloud stared down at the rectangular object for a moment, then her eyes widened and she wrapped the woman in a tight hug with a laugh, "You did remember!"

"Your friend, Aria," she began as they sat back down, the elder beside Zangan while the younger took the floor. "Came by early this morning to see me, she said it would be worth more if we surprised you."

"Aria," her jaw dropped, "You met Aria!?"

Piper nodded with an amused smile at her daughter's surprise, "She's a very nice young woman, it's good to know you have a friend you can trust, even if she is so much older than you."

"She's fun to be with," the blonde preteen replied with a grin.

"She is rather mischievous for her age, just like your Uncle was, now, Zangan had something for you as well."

Cloud blinked up at the as of yet silent man and found him smiling back at her, reaching into a deep pocket of his large coat he stated, "Tifa and I already gave you those gloves, but I had trouble finding the second part of that present. I hope you don't mind that they aren't wrapped." She blinked curiously as he withdrew two leather objects and handed them to her. "Happy Birthday, Cloud."

She picked one up and examined it closely, like the gloves, they were thin and made of blue-black leather and testing her limited ability in item-sensing, she discovered they also had the same enchantment, a subtle and limited spell that allowed them to actually grow somewhat with her. Since she was eleven, she'd already had her first growth spurt, meaning that they wouldn't have to stretch much more.

They were bracers, or arm-guards, whatever you wanted to call them, tugging them on, they covered the full length of her forearms, plates of metal arranged within the leather strategically placed to allow a stronger block.

"Thank you, Master Zangan," she smiled at him and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Think nothing of it, you should open your other present."

Obediently, she removed the wrapping off her fourth gift of the day only to gasp in shock. It was a small watercolor, looking life-like, yet surreal at the same time. A young woman dressed in black sat on a forest floor leaning against the flat of a large sword, the tips of her long blonde hair brushing the ground as she held out her hand to the being in front of her. Something was in that hand that she couldn't distinguish, small and shining with a light all it's own.

She barely noticed that though, instead her gaze was locked on the second being in the picture, a very familiar creature covered in silver scales. The Dragon from her dream stood before the woman, wings still half-furled from a recent flight and neck out-stretched to better see the offering.

Hungering for the name of the person who had seen her mythical protector, the blue-eyed girl found a signature hidden within the shading of a tree trunk. For some reason, the name rang familiar in her mind, though she knew she'd never heard it before.

_Lyra Lairell_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**A/N:** For some reason as I rewrote this, I saw Zack in Aria's place and Sephiroth in Vincent's, interesting, isn't it? I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did rewriting it! 4:18PM

**Rewritten: 7/27/08**

**Reposted: 10/25/08  
**

**A/N Post Script**: _I loved my former after chapter chatter so much that I decided to leave it, see below for a review!_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Seph:** Go write the next chapter! (bonks LOTD on the head with a sheathed katana)

**LadyoftheDrow:** Ow! Seph! What was that for?

**Seph:** I want you to write the next chapter so you can work on the story that I'm in!

**LadyoftheDrow:** (pouts) Oh, alright ( turns to readers) Next Chapter is  
called Confrontations, and should be posted by the 20th?

**Ariadne:** WARNING! Cliffhanger alert!

**LadyoftheDrow:** (covers Aria's mouth) Quiet! You aren't supposed to give it away! Loud-mouth!

**Ariadne:** I am not!

**LadyoftheDrow:** (Scowls) Could've fooled me!

**Ariadne:** (pouts)

**Seph:** (sighs) . . . . females.

**LadyoftheDrow/Ariadne:** (turns to Seph with flaming eyes)

**Seph:** Oh --! (ducks out of sight)

**A/N2:** _Blame the Coffee and my need for some comic relief after multiple verbal clashes with my father for that last tid-bit (he says I'm so like my aunt that it's scary, but I've got HIS temper, so we're always getting into arguments . . . .over next to nothing. . . . sigh)_

**A/N3:** _This story would have been posted on time . . . . if FF-Net hadn't decided to be ebil and shut down the login and review features right before I tries to post it . . . . . (WHACK! WHACK!) Bad FF-Net! BAD! . . . . . half hour my backside._

**FF-Net Quote: **_Site Alert: login/review features will be down on Sunday June 17th, 2AM US PST to approximately 2:30AM US PST for essential upgrades. The upgrade session is estimated to last only 30 minutes. _

_We apologize for the inconvenience. _

**LadyoftheDrow: **Am I allowed to scream now?

**Seph:** Sorry, Lady, you can't, your 14-yr-old sister is asleep just six feet above your head, the 5-yr-old and the 7-year-old are asleep(hopefully), your dad's asleep, and you don't want to wake Snowball up yet do you?

**LadyoftheDrow: **(pouts) I hate when I want to be noisy and everyone in the house is asleep . . . .

**Seph:** I know, I know. Go look for the "Last Samurai" then, that should keep you busy.

**Ariadne: **Oh! Yes! Good idea! We still need to watch the beginning!

**LadyoftheDrow:** (looks warily at Seph) Wait a minute . . . Aren't we supposed to be mad at you?

**Seph: **Eh, heh-heh, uh . . . maybe?

**Ariadne: **You're right, Lady, he made The Comment.

**LadyoftheDrow:** 3 . . . (Seph takes a step back) 2 . . . (LOTD and Aria smirk) 1 . . . (Seph sprints off) GET 'IM!! (LOTD and Aria dash after him)

**Katana: **(appears out of nowhere) End.


	7. Part 1: Chapter 6: Confrontations

**PLEASE RE-READ ALL CHAPTERS BEFORE READING THIS ONE. **

**I HAVE REWRITTEN THEM, MAKING THEM LONGER AS WELL AS CONTAINING MORE INFORMATION. **

**I WILL REMOVE THIS MESSAGE IN ONE MONTH.**

**A/N:**_ Yes, yes, I know, I know, I've taken a ridiculously long time in updating this story. I'm not even going to give you an in-depth explanation, let's just say . . . laziness, lack of inspiration, depression, technology problems, a job at an island hotel, life and a dash of stubbornness mixed to result in the lateness of the rewrites and the posting of this chapter.  
_

_. . ._

_I think I'll go hide in my little shadowy corner of the internet under the protection of Seph, Yukimari and my active Neon Green Snake Plushies of Doom: Saber, Tachi, Katana, Sai and Khopesh, the other eight are still hiding away in the oddly dark aether that likes to swallow my muses from time to time. Wonder what exactly it is?_

_Well, at least the lot of you have learned that my work tends to more often than not come in bursts . . . that's interesting . . . apparently reading so much Harry Potter and living in New England is altering my vocabulary into something resembling British, I'm not British though . . . or actually, I technically am, I think, only a small bit though. Oh, wait, no, I'm mostly Portuguese and German, with a mix of Irish, French, English and Welsh to finish it off. Agh, this is making my head hurt. I'll just disappear now that I've posted several things and hope you lot take pity on my mind with these word-filled offerings of peace._

_Eeeps! Bye!_

_Seph watches Lady duck under her desk with her mother's poor excuse for a laptop in hand and sighs before turning to face the readers, "Don't forget, Lady rewrote all the previous chapters, so be sure to read them first."_

_Actually, this ended up being shorter than I planned . . .  
_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Tempest The Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 6**

**Confrontations**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**06:20 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

When her mother asked her to sit down that morning, the twelve-year-old instantly went on alert, what was this? She'd already given her The Talk months ago, though Aria had already given her a much less embarrassing version a few weeks before that, so what was this about?

The look on her face was not encouraging her to relax.

"Cloud," the green-eyed woman started seriously, "I've left this alone long enough."

"You leave right after breakfast every day and half the time I don't see you until dinner. I rarely see you in the village and even then you're usually by yourself. I do trust your friend Aria, but I don't know where she lives and I've only spoken to her a few times. What is going on with you?"

Piper had always known her daughter was independent and adventurous, when she was little she'd had to put child-proof locks on everything, from the front door to her sewing kit. Nothing was safe from the innocent-looking child. It wasn't that she got into trouble on purpose, far from it, she was simply curious about everything and anything. Sky hadn't done anything to dampen those qualities, in fact, she inherited them from him.

It hadn't helped things any when he taught her to not only use Materia, but how versatile Materia really was. From a young age, she'd learned how to look at things without reservations, to never say something was fact until she had looked at it from all angles and backwards. As the years passed, Cloud became so independent that now, Piper barely knew her anymore. When exactly had her precocious little Cloud become a puzzle that she no longer had the answer to?

The twelve-year-old blonde was speechless. Was her mother really worried about her that much? Three years knowing and learning from Vincent and nearly two years absorbing Aria's knowledge of subterfuge and random trivia as well as making her way through all those files and books in the Library had sharpened her mind beyond the norm for someone her age.

Her mother was worried about her, but she couldn't tell her she spent her time in the Manor, she couldn't tell her that Aria lived there with a man that was much older than he looked. She especially couldn't say that she'd found Vincent in a coffin and Aria in a tube. It would just upset her, and there was always the chance that she would tell someone else and that was not an option.

She did love her mother dearly and trusted her but she knew, more from books than anything, that parents tend to take the possibility of danger to their children and run with it before they understand everything. Unless you managed to keep them still and silent long enough to explain the entire situation to them.

Cloud doubted the elder blonde would listen to anything past the words 'Shinra Manor.'

But how to divert her worry without compromising her friends or her time with them?

"Aria's been teaching me," she started slowly, not looking at her mother as she formed a cut and paste version of the truth, "She used to be a fighter and she's very paranoid about safety. So I can't tell you exactly where she lives, only that it's close by."

"Exactly what is she teaching you?" If she'd looked up, Cloud would have noticed that instead of calming her mother, her explanation was making her even more wary.

"All sorts of things, I'm kind-of . . . her apprentice."

"Cloud Leona Strife! You will not continue this _apprenticeship_ without my permission."

She looked up and started as she found only firm determination in her mother's eyes, "_What!?_ No, you can't!"

No longer go to the Manor? Stop training with Vincent? Stop learning from Ariadne? Stop her self-teaching in the Library?

No way in Hell.

Vincent and Aria weren't just her friends, they were like family. She'd only known them for a few years, but that didn't make a difference in her mind. She wouldn't let them go.

Even for her mother.

Even if it meant lea-leaving her mother. She had friends in the village, people she'd known when she was a child. Vincent and Aria? They only had her. Vincent had been a Turk before he was locked away and Aria couldn't remember her past. She was their link to the real world now. Sure, they could leave at any time, but they_ chose_ not to, for her.

Cloud pushed back her chair and stood, darting for the door, only to feel a hand wrap around her arm.

"Let go!" the blonde twisted out of her mother's grasp and stumbled back, staring at her in shock for a moment, "Don't you trust me anymore?"

"Cloud . . ."

She took her chance and ran out the door while her mother stared after her in shock. When had her daughter changed so much? When had she become . . . so strong? So determined?

When exactly had her little girl gone and grown up on her?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**06:31 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

When she'd left the house, she hadn't headed directly for the manor, there was always the chance of someone looking out the window and seeing her head that direction, or for the older blonde to ask Master Zangan to find her. She was pretty sure he knew how to track, he was one of the hunters. Instead, she headed for the northern entrance to the village, the one leading to the mountain, then followed the barrier until she was north of the Manor, stepping on stones and fallen trees instead of dirt wherever she could. Then she crossed the barrier again and entered the grounds through a fir-covered hole in the wall.

A hole which Vincent had shown her when she voiced her worries about someone following her to the Manor. Spending so much time with the Ex-Turk was making her as paranoid as he was.

When Cloud finally entered the Manor, it was strangely silent, until she found Aria holed away in the Ice Room as the woman had dubbed it with a notebook, hand moving madly across the pages.

"Aria?" the silver-eyed woman paused abruptly and looked up, smiling when she caught sight of the blonde.

"Cloud! What are you doing here so early? You don't train with Vince for another two hours."

"I-" She cut herself off with a shake of her head, there was no use worrying her friends just yet. "There was a book I wanted to look at before training today."

"Alright, don't study too hard!" she grinned impishly and waved her off, turning back to her work, "I'm trying to work on my weapon, so I might be late for our training session."

"It's fine," Cloud managed to say as she caught a glimpse of the intricate sketches, words written in a language she didn't recognize. It wasn't Cetran, Gaian or Continental, did Aria come from somewhere even more obscure?

"Close the door on your way out!" As she left the room, she heard Aria growl and something skitter across the floor, voice just loud enough to catch, "Chikuso! I remember everything about how to make it but I can't remember how to collect the Jeticite . . ."

Jeticite? What in the Three Kings name was Jeticite? Some type of rare metal?

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**08:54 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

In the following hours, the blonde girl found herself unable to concentrate on the passage of text in front of her. Instead, her mind kept twisting the words as if scolding her for her decision. She'd made the right choice . . . right?

Shaking her head, the Strife Heir ran a hand through her chin-length spikes and closed her eyes for a moment before allowing a scan of the room to distract her. Rows upon rows of books, some she had read, others she hadn't, already, she had a rough idea of where most books were placed in the former occupants confusing method of organization. With as much reading as she did down here, it had only been a matter of time before she had at least a loose grasp on Hojo's filing methods.

A glint of reflected light caught her attention and she turned with a frown that turned incredulous instantly: 'Why does that bat have a Materia?'

The Materia the bat was carrying was slightly larger than normal and a very pale blue, too pale to be a support Materia. Her studies had revealed that the more vibrant the color, the more power. She'd seen the phenomenon with her own crystals, how as time went on, their color strengthened. She'd quickly learned at a glance how to tell the level of a Materia, though, admittedly, she only had hands-on practice with Magic and Support Materia. She still hadn't mastered Odin, he was only on his second level. This Materia was paler than even a newborn support Materia

The blonde yanked herself from her thoughts as the bat neared the door to her left and jumped to her feet, a strange Materia . . . she had to have it!

Except . . . How was she supposed to get it?

It was flying too high to just grab it, and since the monsters were so wary of her, she couldn't use her Quicksilver, dagger or her magic unless she could get it cornered, otherwise, it would drop it and she didn't want to risk cracking such a unique Materia.

As if it had sensed her intentions, the flying rodent froze mid-air and seemed to look at her, before squeaking in dismay and darting for the nearest door, well that decided it. Time for a bit of cat and mouse, or chocobo and bat as the case may be.

Following it into the next room, she tripped over her own feet and stumbled into a door she previously had been unable to open, this time, however, the door fell inwards off it's hinges from the impact, sending up a cloud of dust that hid her from the bat's view.

Squeak? Chi-chatter? Chip? It paused, confused at the sudden lack of small dangerous human and descended slowly, curious. The small two-legged elemental had learned how to disappear? The others didn't mention this. Cheek! It squawked in dismay as hands suddenly reached out and caused its energy-filled prize to fall right into the little electric ones grasp. No! MinemineMine!

Cerulean eyes widened in shock and she twisted, back-stepping rapidly and seized the oddly-colored crystal before it could hit anything on the table behind her. Looking down at the Materia, Cloud let out a sigh of relief at finding the strange item undamaged.

_SCREE_!

Uh-oh.

Cloud's face paled radically as she saw the bat plummet towards her and automatically stumbled back in unison with a Bolt spell that sent it shrieking in trepidation. But this bat was much too stubborn, as shown when it dove at her like a Wutain Kamikaze Warrior of Old.

She hit the table behind her with enough force to knock the Materia from her grasp, ignoring the sound of glass shattering, she seized her dagger in less than a second and slashed in front of her, slicing through the membrane of one wing and frightening the bat off for good as she took stock of her surroundings.

Large vials of glowing liquid and a handful of unbroken reflector tube lights illuminated the room and gave her an eerie view of the shards of glass that were firmly imbedded in her left forearm from when she leaned onto the table so that she could twist to grasp her dagger with her right hand. Each shard was coated in a combination of blood and a familiar greenish liquid she would recognize anywhere

Looking back at the pool of green fluid on the table as the stench of Mako curled her nose she grimaced at the burn in her arm and the realization that this was definitely not a Mako solution, if anything, it was pure Mako. Bracing her arm to avoid any more pain, she stepped towards the door with the primary intent of getting away from the toxic fumes, the secondary of removing as much of the glass as she could and the tertiary of having Aria or Vincent examine her injury.

The door, however, was as far as she got as her body rebelled, limbs going numb as she realized there was something else in the air, looking back, she saw a series of smaller vials that had been knocked to the ground, she hadn't seen the through the table, the combined fluids were giving off a faintly visible fume that she realized must be combining with the Mako smell somehow even as she fell to the ground with a final thought as her eyes locked onto a drop of dark blood on the ground.

_I hate bats._

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**09:11 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

Only six meters away from the now unconscious blonde, Ariadne paused, a stream of black liquid hovering mid-swirl over her hands as she looked up, the light of her metallic eyes flickering around slit pupils. Her hand twitched, the black claws at her fingertips becoming needle sharp before she shook herself and they faded back.

_No, all's well, she's just nicking a bat that got too close._ Taking a deep breathe to calm her sudden bout of nerves, the raven-haired woman turned her attention back to the substance in the air in front of her and twisted her hands around it, watching in fascination as it changed shape. A smile replacing her previous frown.

Finally, she had remembered how to do it. The first time she drew the Jeticite had been an instinctive act, it had barely been enough to make Sharetu, Cloud's dagger. No where close to enough to construct even a single component of Janamesu

A magnificent weapon, her Janamesu, a pity that she had to rebuild it once more, she knew without knowing that her last had been melted down and reshaped. She knew her Jeticite was different than other Guardians, hers turned silver when exposed to high concentrations of magic. Or Mako, she mentally added, watching as even now the black started to gain a silver tint.

Her mother's had been quick to change as well, turning the same silver-blue of her sister's hair at the smallest touch of magic- Saiku! She cursed, freezing the Jeticite as she mentally scrambled for the trail of thoughts, searching for a word, a hint, something!

An almost euphoric calm came over her as she imprinted the single simple word in her mind, followed quickly by others. She knew her mother. Renata. Daughter of Jarrik and Fanna. Sister to Aedan, now dead. Mate to Adelais, only son of Magnus and Nyx. Mother to two. Censura and herself.

_Sweet Lycil above!_ She let her hands fall, her petrified creation hitting the ground with a thud as a tear slipped down her cheek. My family, could they possibly be alive after all these years? These long, long years? How long have I been gone from them? How many years have I missed? Censura . . . she smiled at the thought of a young woman with short silver hair and blue eyes, spinning in a white tunic in a field of flowers, a younger version of herself looked past the humming woman to the two adults lounging beneath a tree. The man, Adelais, had snow white hair and crimson eyes, white clad arms wrapped securely around the dark-haired woman beside him, her pure black eyes alight with mirth as silver lips parted with a cat-call to Censura, who squeaked indignantly with a dark flush. Her mother was so different . . . not only did silver coat her lips, but it marked the tanned skin around her eyes and even on the tips of her ears.

Yanking herself out of the memory, she turned and stared at her tear-stained reflection in the glass, choking back a sob at the faint touches of silver in her own features. Now that she'd remembered, she would be unable to ever forget, every time she looked in the mirror, she'd see the silver highlights and dark hair of her mother. And Vincent!

She clenched her eyes at the thought, now whenever she looked at Vincent's eyes, she remember another crimson set. That of her father.

"Dear little Johann, you were right," she whispered quietly, "Not knowing was better than knowing and wishing for what I've lost. It didn't hurt so much to be oblivious, but I still felt empty. I should have listened."

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**09:11 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

Down below the Manor, another woman paused mid-word and shivered as a chill went through her.

"Piper?" She blinked, looking up into concerned dark eyes in front of her and smiled pleasantly, "You were saying?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she suddenly shook her head, "I shouldn't have bothered you with it."

"It's something," he returned firmly, "You're rattled about something, is there something wrong with Cloud?"

"I-yes-no-" She cut herself off with a strangled sigh, "Odin curse it, I'm just really confused, I think I really messed up."

"Sit down," her aging friend pushed her down onto a bench, "Now, from the beginning . . ."

**0-0-0-0-0**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**A/N: **_While I was writing this, something weird happened, we were watching a Burn Notice marathon and having a debate on whether or not I was actually an evil alien with psychic powers, well, I wasn't arguing about the evil or at least partly psychic parts. The Evil test says I'm something like 70 percent evil and I have proven my slightly psychic capabilities several times, like starting to walk past my cell phone only to stop and stare at it only seconds before it started ringing when I had no reason to remain in the room or recounting to mom the fact that whenever Kit or Carolyn gets a cut, they go to Megan and freak her out, only to have Megan call my mom's cell about fifteen minutes later saying that Carolyn had a cut and it was bleeding through the bandage and how she didn't think her stomach was going to be okay after this . . . . ._

_Anyways, I left the room to get a drink, came back, sat back down in front of the computer and the TV suddenly starting changing channels._

_Nobody was touching the remote._

_It was two feet away from me, completely level, buttons down, buttons flat and unpressed._

_We're not quite sure what to think about that._

**Seph: She has uncontrolled technopathic abilities! Run!**

**LadyoftheDrow: Well, I'm not sure about that, but I know for a fact that I'm EMF sensitive. **

**LOTD blinks and grins widely.**

**LadyoftheDrow: Ah! You're back!**

**LOTD hugs the silver-haired seven-year-old in delight.**

**Seph: Yes, I'm back, I came back when you rewriting Frozen Mercury.**

**LadyoftheDrow: Then why didn't you come out!?  
**

**Seph: I'm not allowed to talk in rewrites.**

**Yukimari: Squeak!**

**Seph: What the fuzz is this thing?**

**LOTD slaps the back of his head.**

**LadyoftheDrow: He's not a thing, he's a Dream Hare and don't quote me.**

**Seph: A what? And why not?**

**LOTD sighs.**

**LadyoftheDrow: Go look it up. And because I never posted the story you were in, so you can't quote my self-insert.**

**Seph: Curse it.**

**A/N2: Also, I was a little stuck on this one as I'd originally been planning something a little different for the second half, but then I had an epiphany thanks to a fic of someone's I read recently and visiting Shinra Manor in the game again. Hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the next chapter in two weeks.**

**Chaos looks at the chapter in mild confusion, before turning to LOTD.**

**Chaos: Why is Cloud's maturity-level fluctuating?**

**LOTD: Because her dad died.**

**Seph: Huh?**

**LOTD sighs: When someone experiences a traumatic incident, part of their mind will become locked at the age they were at the time of the incident, so, Cloud can act very childishly at times, but at the same time, as the incident was her father dying in front of her, it forced her to grow up and become more serious. The childish aspect of her personality makes her open-mindedness even more blatant, shown by her rapid acceptance of Vincent and the 'clinginess' towards Vincent and Ariadne in this chapter. So, you could say, she will always be able to see eye-to-eye with a child yet is as mature as anyone the rest of the time.**

**Posted: 10/26/08**


	8. Part 1: Chapter 7: Experimental Mistake

**A/N:**_ I was very tempted to combine this chapter with Confrontations, but I swore I wouldn't months ago, as it is, you're getting five chapters for the price of one, so no complaints! Though, I did want to make this longer, I just failed miserably, when I do rewrites again though, it'll be longer.  
_

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Tempest the Turk**

**Part 1**

**Chapter 7**

**Experimental Mistake**

**0-0-0-0-0**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**09:11 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

When Vincent had first awoken within the crypts of the Manor, his first thought had been to return to his slumber, to escape the thought of his mistakes and repent by not living the life he had taken away from Lucrecia and her son. Yet that thought had been pushed away the moment he caught sight of the one who had found him.

A mere child, with bright blonde hair and the most innocent blue eyes he had ever seen, the boy, as he had believed at first, had fallen back with a frightened squeak even as he rose to stand within the coffin, not realizing at first just how intimidating he seemed until those blue eyes had turned to face him with a shocked and somewhat wary look.

After a rather unorthodox conversation, he had learned that the young boy was in fact a girl named Cloud Strife with a frighteningly strong affinity to the different forms of magic. He had later learned just how much trouble she went through to find him, yet, she didn't want anything of him in return, something he found hard to believe at first, even if she was a child. All that effort and she wanted no reward? What an odd child.

In some ways, she reminded him of himself, that unique mix of suspicion and innocence, from what he'd heard, even their fathers were similar in personality. So atypical: to find an orphaned girl so similar to him. Perhaps that was why he had stayed, why he had chosen to teach her: so that he could protect her from becoming even more like him.

Some things were beyond his ability to change . . . the loss of her father, her analytic and suspicious turn of mind, the loss of her childhood. Yet, he still had the chance to prevent a repeat of many of his . . . sins. Perhaps he could even find some sense of redemption in protecting her, find release from the weight of his past failures.

Lucrecia . . . by the time he had understood what had happened, it was too late. She was sick with something he didn't understand and her son . . . their son was lost to them both, a coveted subject of Hojo's experiments. After so long wondering if she had hated him, she had told him that it wasn't his fault, it was her own fault. She couldn't hate him, ever, only the fact that whenever she looked into his eyes, she remembered the kind man who had died protecting her.

Lucrecia hadn't wanted him to die as his father did.

Then he'd realized the magnitude of what Hojo was doing, Lucrecia's child, her son, a child who was possibly his own, a fact he had never considered before . . . hidden away and treated little better than a machine. Not even Lucrecia was allowed to see him, under the excuse of how she might 'contaminate' the boy.

When he'd realized that, he'd confronted Hojo, planning to somehow get him to give Sephiroth back, but . . . it hadn't gone nearly as well as he'd planned. He had failed one of the first lessons he learned as a Turk, he had allowed his emotions to control him and prevent him from thinking things through. Unbridled emotions were both the greatest strength and greatest weakness of the human race.

The time after that was too muddled to make sense of, all that was clear was that he had been an experiment, Hojo's experiment and then, when he had awoken, he had found himself dressed in a set of his own father's clothes, most blatant of which was the blood-red mantle, tattered from use, an Heirloom, passed from father to son for generations, a joke on Hojo's part perhaps. To give him something that he had thought long lost. The Valentine Mantle. Likely the only reason it was still reasonably intact was a direct result of the layers upon layers of enchantments that had been cast on it over the centuries. It was so old that half the enchantments had been forgotten or splintered to embed their energy in the Mantle itself.

It was his own fault, really, that he had been shot and experimented on. He had lost control of his temper and it had nearly cost him everything.

It had been three years since he'd woken up, three years he stayed in this Manor of Despair, three years he had spent as a . . . what was he to Cloud really? Was he a friend? A mentor? A confidant? A protector? And Aria . . . The raven-haired man smiled slightly at the thought of the mischievous woman. She was much like Cloud as well wasn't she? Serious one moment, childish the next. The three of them were living puzzles that even he was having trouble deciphering and he was one of the puzzles in question!

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Vincent glanced to the cracked clock behind the piano on the east side of the room. Hn. Nine-fifty-two? Strange. Flexing his gauntlet in annoyance, he stood and left the room.

Where was she? She was never late to training, she enjoyed it so much that half the time she was already warmed up by the time he got there and now she was nearly an hour late. To be honest, he enjoyed the training sessions as much as she did, for one, it was a trustworthy method to not only alleviate the boredom that tended to crop up despite Aria's now constant presence . . . but it was relaxing as well.

He took out his irritation with a few rapid shots from his Peacemaker on a quartet of Dorky Faces that decided to interrupt him, a gun which had formerly belonged to Cloud's father. The blue-eyed-girl had given it to him as a gift after coercing him into telling her when his birthday was. It was a newer model than the one he had used in the Turks, the kick all but removed and the Materia growth doubled.

A quick circuit of the surface levels turned up nothing, not even Aria, it wasn't until he neared the library that he realized something was very, very wrong.

Covering his mouth with a hiss as the stench of chemicals and Mako in the air, he stepped in, searching for the source. What was going on? He'd locked up all the lab rooms to keep his blonde kitten of a student from getting her whiskers singed . . . crimson eyes shifted to look towards the door to the nearest lab, only to widen instantly at the body collapsed in the door frame.

"Cloud!" He mentally thanked Hojo as he used his enhanced speed to remove the unconscious blonde from the room in seconds, but then cursed him again as he spotted the Mako-coated shards of glass embedded in her arm, a web of half-dried blood coating the skin. "Damn it."

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**Ice Room, Shinra Manor**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**09:57 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

Oblivious to the situation elsewhere in the Manor, the misplaced amnesiac took up her craft once again, tear-stains on her skin drying, allowing the strange material to hover in the air in front of her as her hands moved, somehow forming a perfectly cylindrical shaft in her hand, roughly a meter in length and then stretching it to two meters.

Placing her hand in the center, she released the metal slowly to examine the balance, finding it too top-heavy, she took the base and spiraled her hand around it, wrapping it in a new stream of black that dissolved without changing shape as the weapon gradually became balanced. When it leveled, she smiled and with a two-fingered flick, a fine mesh of metal encased the shaft evenly.

Next, she took the head of the weapon in her hands and shaped it, selecting a good third of the substance and stretching it out in the shape of a long curved blade. Once she was satisfied with it's form, she ran her fingers over the edge to bring it to a razor sharpness and then using her finger, never truly touching, engraved a series of runes, flowing into each other to form a truer meaning than the single runes themselves could give.

"Janamesu . . . my Claw of Descent." She smiled as the runic inscription glowed for a moment before dimming, leaving a purplish-silver color behind.

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**11:20 (GST +9) May 14, 1988**

"Shh, everything's going to be alright," Crystal blue eyes opened to find a matching pair looking down at her with a hint of worry. "You're safe, Cloud."

"Papa?" Why was he talking like this? In all the other dreams . . . it felt real, but surreal at the same time. Life how it could have been if he hadn't died.

"You've found very true friends, Magelet," he smiled and helped her sit up, letting her look at their surroundings in surprise, the double bedroom? Why were they here? Why was he here? "Rather unique but very true."

"Wha's going on? Why're you here?" the blonde winced at the slur to her words, this was a dream, wasn't it? Why couldn't she talk right?

"Hey," Sky Strife smiled and ruffled her hair, "Calm yourself down, Cloud. You're a bit out of sorts right now, but everything is going to be okay, I promise."

"You've been exposed to some pretty nasty stuff, let me tell you," the former SOLDIER stated after a moment of silence, shaking his head, "You inhaled fumes from several experimental substances as well as getting some mild Mako Poisoning."

"But," he raised a gloved finger to accentuate his point, a mischievous grin lighting his lips, "You don't have to worry about that, you'll be back on your feet by dawn tomorrow."

The Strife Heir cocked her head to the side in confusion, "By dawn? How's that? Mako Poisoning . . ." _is really bad mojo . . . where in Shiva's name did that phrase come from?_

The former SOLDIER actually looked somewhat nervous as she pressed for information, but pushed her back down on the bed and spoke calmly and seriously, "Rein in the curiosity of yours, Magelet. It's not time yet. Right now, that red-eyed friend of yours is pretty worried, so you'd better _wake up_."

With those last two words, the world blurred and she closed her eyes against the vertigo

"Nnnn," her face twisted and she squinted as she opened her eyes, even the dim light seeming to hurt her eyes. Blinking slowly, she realized that it was no longer her father sitting beside her, it was Vincent, months of training with him allowing her to spot the tell-tale signals of worry in his ruby gaze.

She felt so strange, even stranger than the vision with her father, she could feel every detail of the clothing she was wearing, Cloud could clearly hear the sound of something moving around downstairs, everything was so detailed . . . _I wish it wasn't_, the blonde thought as she wrinkled her nose at the noxious scent clinging to her.

Vincent nearly winced when he caught sight of her eyes, there was a glow there, very faint, he could barely see it even with his enhanced vision in the dim light. It would likely grow brighter when close to large amounts of Mako . . . "Cloud?"

"Did I miss training?"

He all but choked at that, she was hurt and all she was thinking about was their missed training session? Nearly three years knowing her and her naïveté still caught him off guard.

"Vincent?"

"We can train once you've recovered," she grinned slightly, then slowly sat up, visually examining her arm, it had been carefully bound in the black bandages that Aria and herself often used when practicing hand-to-hand. For a moment, she wondered why he hadn't just healed it, but then remembered how Materia often worked oddly when used on Mako wounds, the report she'd read said that there was a fifty-fifty chance of it speeding up the healing process, while the other fifty percent of the time it would make the wound worse.

Mentally, she dug up another file, an obscure report by a nameless assistant on the effects of Mako-Infusion. When a powerful Mako solution entered the body through an opening in the epidermis, that opening would heal over at a quicker rate than a normal wound, injections healed immediately and small cuts would be gone within hours. What was the solution strength again that had been tested? 50 percent? 60 percent? Damn Mako was making her head spin!

'_Wait, Dad said I'd be better by dawn, so I'll be healed by then?'_ Cloud pondered but another train of thought corrected her immediately, _'No, he said I'd be on my feet again. That means that the lingering effects of the Mako itself will have stabilized.'_

Was he real? He'd felt real, as real and alive as Vincent beside her. But why? A ghost? Shaking her head to still her thoughts, she perked as she realized she could hear footsteps down the hall.

"Aria's coming." Vincent looked up at her words and nodded in acknowledgment as moments later the footsteps became easier to hear and then stopped beside the open door.

The silver-eyed woman looked inside, an unfamiliar weapon resting in her hand that looked like the lovechild of a hammer and a scythe. The dangerous looking blade by itself was the length of her arm. Quite a nasty weapon for someone as birdlike as Ariadne to wield. If Cloud hadn't known the woman's enhanced abilities first-hand, she would have wondered at how she could even carry it, never mind use it.

Looking at them, Aria frowned in confusion, slinging the ebony weapon over her shoulder lazily, "I missed something important, didn't I?"

Cloud laughed and Vincent smirked slightly, causing the raven-haired woman to pout pitifully, "What's so funny?"

"Come on! Tell me!"

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**Posted: 10/26/08**


	9. Part 1: Chapter 8: Just More Questions

**NOTE TO ALL READERS**

**This story is now being _Rewritten_, so please redirect yourself to Tempest the Turk: ReWrite**

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_**A/N:**__ . Okay, sorry about taking so long, but by the time I got around to polishing off the chapter's plot-line, I kept having so-so reasons to put off writing it. I am however, rather pleased with how my following is growing and the fact that someone recommended my story as a good one for people who don't know much about Gaea and as a good opposite gender story. __**Red Jeanie,**__ tell the person who recommended you that I love them, will you? Well, better stop delaying XD!_

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**Part 1**

**Chapter 8**

**Just More Questions**

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**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**06:12 (GST +9) May 15****th****, 1988**

Cloud was awake before the sun rose, staring at a cobweb on the spackled ceiling in boredom after her failed attempt at falling back asleep. The blonde couldn't quite blame her over-sensitized senses for her inability to sleep, as they had reverted to a much more manageable level while she was asleep. She closed her eyes with a sigh and let her mind wander back to her mother: was she worried?

Probably.

After all, as far as the Nibel woman knew, Aria lived a good distance from the village. Far enough, in fact, that none of the townsfolk had seen any sign of her home. This 'myth' was supported by the fact that Cloud made no secret that she was strong enough to take down several of the monsters living in the mountains . . . and that she was fast enough to outrun the others.

Her mother probably hadn't even gone to sleep last night, waiting for Cloud to return. Unless she was still upset with her. The twelve-year-old's heart went cold.

Would she disown her?

Would she do that? True, Cloud could take care of herself with or without Vincent and Aria's help thanks to her training, but to have her mother forsake her when her father was already gone…?

The blonde magic-user sat up, wincing not from the twinge of her injured arm, but the out-of-sync feel she got as she moved. While the lingering Mako in her system only increased her body's reaction time slightly, it was still enough that she would have to spend a few weeks getting used to it.

She quietly slid one foot into one of her boots, watching the slumbering form in the other bed warily for any sign of waking, the other foot followed and she clumsily tied them before standing. Walking slowly to avoid making any noise, she inched out of the room and then down the hall into the foyer, almost surprised when no monsters interrupted her. The front door slid open without any protest at her touch.

"Cloud." She squeaked slightly in surprise as she looked up at Vincent, realizing why he'd been able to sneak up on her as she noted he was wearing his 'casual' clothing, some wrinkles still creasing the fabric, showing that he had probably only just gotten up himself. His only reaction to her sound was a small smile of amusement as he wrapped a thick shawl around her shoulders.

"Thank you, Vincent." The raven-haired gunner nodded as she looked down at the familiar pattern . . . her mother's work.

"Good luck."

Cloud started, and then smiled, blue eyes draining of worry as she nodded in thanks. For such an antisocial person, she mused silently, Vincent was certainly talented at making her feel better.

The silence of the village was eerie to her ears, none of the sounds of daily life yet heard, she looked around and found only a single light still lit and tensed as she noted it was her own home that was lit and hesitated for a moment before pressing her lips together thinly and forcing herself to continue.

Warily, the blonde approached the window instead of the door and peered inside.

Ignoring the familiar sights of the room within, Cloud examined her mother and straightened as she realized the elder blonde wasn't quite looking in her direction, eyes riveted on a different window. She was still wearing the same clothes as the day before, her hair unbound by its usual braid and looking rather wild as it framed her pale face.

Piper was a very motherly woman, the type who could easily come to care for any child placed in her care as one of her own. Sometimes, Cloud was surprised she was an only child even taking into consideration her father's former profession and death. She was tall for a woman and solid, not obviously muscled or fat in the least, just hardy, the sort of woman who could make threats that sounded more like promises than anything. Biting her lip, the blue-eyed blonde took in her usually warm features and made up her mind at the blatant anxiousness she found there.

She was worried about her.

Quietly, Cloud moved to the back door and opened it, knowing that it wouldn't be locked since her mother never used it and Cloud had forgotten to lock it the last time she used it to sneak out. She inched into the room and closed the door behind her warily, wincing at the sound of a squeak. But her mother didn't move. The twelve-year-old frowned, hadn't she heard it?

"Mom?"

"Cloud!" this time the Nibel-native started and whirled to her feet, jade gaze locking onto the younger blues with surprisingly alacrity. She started towards her, but then froze and her joy transformed into a different emotion that it took Cloud a moment to identify.

Why was she nervous?

"I'm sorry."

"What?" the younger blonde blinked in surprise, nervousness melting away into confusion.

"I'm sorry, Cloud, for not trusting you and Ariadne." Piper repeated evenly, voice firm as she pressed forward. "Neither of you gave me a reason to try to stop your training with her. I was worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you," the blue-eyed girl said after a moment, looking down. "And I'm sorry that we didn't tell you anything about what we were doing. You had a right to worry, it's just, they've got secrets that I don't have the right to tell you."

"They?" the Strife matron frowned at the word, "Is there someone else training you as well?"

"Um, yes?" Cloud answered nervously.

"And who is this other person? Have I met them before?"

"I don't think so," she shook her head as she did some quick math in her head, Vincent had 'left' Nibelheim fifteen years ago after six years in the Manor. When had her mother left Nibelheim? "Maybe? He was here before between 1967 and 1973."

"'73?" Piper frowned, thinking back, "Your grandparents died in 66, I never really paid much attention to anyone after that until your father came through in 68."

"Then I don't think you ever met him," Cloud was almost relieved for some reason, "His name is Vincent, He's been teaching me how to fight hand-to-hand, a different style than what Zangan teaches."

"What does Ariadne teach you?"

"Projectile weapons and strategy." Cloud said after a moment, thinking of target practice and chess matches. "They also have a library that I study in every day."

"Is that how you did so well on the aptitude tests?" Piper asked in surprise.

"I guess so?" Cloud rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment at the reminder of the annual tests the village children were given instead of going through the trouble of building a school. There were certain levels they were supposed to reach each year, if they fell behind, they had to attend a special class with a volunteer tutor until they'd caught back up. If they were ahead though, they were given the next year's test. Cloud had held back the first few times, not really putting a lot of effort into it, the last time around though, this past spring, she'd decided to do her best and ended up being given the Year 10 Exam before stopping and saying that she'd have to wait until next year to do anything higher. They hadn't expected anyone to be taking the Y11 or Y12 exams, they'd only had Y10 because Reed was in Y9. The Examiner that came every year said that he'd make sure to bring some A-level Exams for her next year in case she got through both the Y11 and Y12 exams when he came back. The blonde was still debating whether to start holding back again or not before she alienated herself anymore than she already had from the others she knew. Though, Tifa had been impressed and excited for her, then started studying herself, determined to catch up to her blonde friend despite the fact to do so, she'd have to raise herself by five levels in a single year, and that was only if Cloud advanced a single level next year, which would only happen if she held back.

"Well, I suppose training with them has only done you good then, hasn't it?" Piper smiled fondly and wrapped her daughter in a hug, giving herself physical evidence she hadn't dreamed her daughter had come back. She pulled back and lifted the younger blonde's chin with her hand, "I wish you luck and strength in continuing, though I'd like to meet this other trainer of yours sometime."

"I'll ask him," Cloud replied evasively.

Piper just chuckled, a determined glint appearing in her green gaze, but she smiled, "I'll go make you some breakfast."

As the blonde watched her mother disappear into the kitchen, she could have sworn she heard her father's voice reciting a certain old Gaean proverb that held true even in these more modern times:

"_Every mother is a Queen, but a father is just a dad."_

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**Double Bedroom, ShinRa Manor**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**10:12 (GST +9) June 20, 1988**

"What are the five D's, Cloud?"

"Deception, detail, development, damage and dissimulation." The blonde replied as she removed the padded leather device wrapped around her upper torso.

It was surprisingly comfortable considering its central function of compressing her developing bust. Her mother had made it at her request, finding it something of a challenge to create something sturdy enough to do that as well as designing it to be comfortable enough that you'd forget it was there. It was surprisingly thin and the band in the back that would resize it as she grew was reinforced with plastic instead of metal to keep it lightweight.

"Deception, a disguise is based on the deception of a person's perception, altering your appearance to what you want others to see.

"Detail, the most important element of a disguise is detail, every detail must make sense and remain the same.

"Development, a disguise is a character in itself and needs a past, present and future, a long-term disguise must evolve over time.

"Damage, both the physical and mental aspects of a disguise need to be as durable as the real thing.

"Dissimulation, a disguise is made to hide the truth, of any size."

"Very good, Cloud," Aria grinned and pulled the crimson fabric of the dress over Cloud's head, then tied a dark sash over her head, taking care in positioning it to cover her hair completely, then taking out a small compact and rubbing the dark cream into her eyebrows, "Now, how will today's trip use the five D's?"

"The hour walk and the amount of time we'll be in Stonheim will test Damage." The blonde started slowly, carefully thinking over the different elements, "Deception . . . I've been to Stonheim before, but I have to appear as if everything is new to me. Dissimulation . . . I'm showing something I've been hiding, yet at the same time, still hiding the truth."

"Add some more physical Detail," The raven-haired woman handed her a different container and pushed her towards the mirror.

Cloud looked down at the hard plastic, eyes taking in the stylized logo on the front, the stylized bronze N looking strangely like the Cetran rune for Protect. She carefully opened it, to find two colored _things _floating in clear fluid. She frowned immediately, utterly confused. "What is it?"

"These." The raven-haired woman uttered proudly, dipping one fingertip gently into the fluid to press against one of the concave objects, which stuck to her finger as she pulled it out, "Are one of the miraculous creations of Nesda and Co. They're called contact lenses."

"Eh?" Cloud blinked, staring at the lens curiously, noting now that the center of the grey coloring was a clear circle. "What do they do?"

"Well, they work like glasses, expect you wear them on the surface of your eye. However, we're not using the prescription brand." She winked and tipped Cloud's chin towards her. "We're using them cosmetically. Now, don't blink."

It took all her willpower not to flinch as the cold plastic touched her eye, blinking several times once Aria pulled away. "Feels weird, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Cloud blinked again, then glanced in the mirror and started as she noted that her right eye was now a cool mountain grey rather than the sky blue she was so used to. "Whoa."

Aria laughed, grinning widely, "Miracle workers. They cost a shiny gil, but they're well worth it, just like the rest of their products."

"What sort of products?"

"Well, they've got this really interesting concoction that can change your hair to practically any color you want, even weird ones like neon green. And of course, their line of Contact Lenses." She chuckled and watched as Cloud carefully applied the other lens. "Good job. Ready to head out?"

The blonde gave her guise a once over, then nodded, looking up into Aria's now dark grey eyes, not a hint of their normal metallic sheen in sight. "Yeah."

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**Strife Residence, Northern District**

**Nibelheim, Western Continent**

**27:00 (+9 GST) June 20, 1988**

"Cloud! There's a letter for you!" The blonde looked up sharply at the words and hurried down the stairs, just barely managing not to fall as she rushed around the corner.

Piper chuckled and held out a single thin envelope, and smiled as her daughter took it and immediately sat down on the couch and used her knife to slit open the envelope. The envelope itself was of high-quality, the Shin-Ra logo emblazoned beside a stamped name and office. The address, however, was carefully printed by a human hand in black ink:

_Strife, Cloud L._

_Nibelheim, Western Continent_

Cloud tilted her head curiously, smiling to herself, Nibelheim, like many small towns, didn't have a numbering system on their houses. Instead, when mail arrived, it was sorted by family name and then given to the matriarch of that family during the Bi-Weekly gathering at the Town Hall. They met on Mondays and Thursdays.

She opened the letter and dutifully started to read:

_Cloud,_

_It's been five years now since I last visited you and your mother, five years since your father's death. With the graduation of the newest class of Cadets from the Academy, I have found myself remembering what it was like to learn from your father, both before and after he retired. He taught me a great deal about being a good SOLDIER, and you, Magelet, reminded me that inexperience and youth does not mean much in the face of sheer ability._

_I have chosen to take on a student of my own from amongst the newest class. He actually reminds me of you, with his youth and exuberance, he is not much older than you, either. His name is Zackary Fair and he is from Gongaga, a smaller town on the Southern end of the Western Continent. He's quite talented with a blade, but has stated that is due to the efforts of his former teacher, a woman named Mari Nesda . . . . ._

Cloud paused in her reading and stared at the name for a long moment, brows rising high. Nesda? As in that company that Aria told her about? Was she the woman who ran that company? Surely not . . . it must be a lot of work, running a company, she shouldn't have had enough free time to train a student in swordsmanship . . . maybe it was a relative?

As she continued to eye the name, though, she got the feeling that it wasn't a relative. Mari Nesda was the CEO of Nesda and Co. Then another thought struck. This woman ran a company that distributed _Disguise _products, chances were, she used them as well. Who knew how many she'd perfected?

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**A/N: **_btw, we do have a forum for this fanfic now, why don't you take a look at the link on my profile? Also, the Tempest the Turk 'Drabble Series' will be up soon, so keep an eye out._

**Twitch, twitch, twitch**

**Seph: Uh-oh, what now? –blinks- Ohhhhhhh!**

**LOTD: EVIL! EVIL! EVIL! …. This chapter **_**would **_**have been posted at 10:12PM EST April, 15****th****, 2010… were it not for the fact that the site decided to update the site…. Last time this happened was when I tried to post Quicksilver! –growls-**

Admin/Login area will be disabled from 2009/12/15 10PM US Pacific Time to approximately 2009/12/16 12AM. We do not expect the down-time to exceed 30 minutes but have allocated 2 hours in caution. We will utilize this 2 hour window to upgrade our database system and resolve timeout problems users have been reporting in the login/admin area. We appreciate your understanding in this short down-time window.

Thank you - Site Staff

**Seph: Wait a minute – What the Hell? It thinks it's December 15****th**** of last year? Whaaa? And the time window isn't right either, if it **_**were **_**then it wouldn't have started for another THREE hours…**

**LOTD: So . . . when are they gonna let me log in?**

**Seph: Now, apparently.**

**Word Count – 2,630**

**Completed – 4/25/10**

**Posted – 4/25/10**


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